Development of a Mental Health Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE): A Pilot Study

Abstract

Background.An Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) is an effective means for clinical evaluation related to clinical competence. Historically, clinical assessment is based on direct observation which can be rooted in subjectivity. Evidence is minimal regarding psychometric properties of an OSCE in undergraduate mental health nursing education, although established as a valid measure of clinical competence. Method.A pilot study was conducted with a convenience sample of 13 sixth semester nursing students to evaluate the validity and reliability of an OSCE framework designed to assess undergraduate mental health nursing students’ clinical competence. The research questions asked: What are the psychometric properties of a mental health OSCE developed for undergraduate nursing education? How do students perceive the OSCE? Results.Preliminary validity and reliability measures were established, including content and criterion validities and inter-rater reliability. Students perceived the OSCE as both a beneficial and challenging learning experience. Conclusion.The OSCE was initially established as a valid, reliable tool for the assessment of clinical competence in undergraduate mental health nursing education. This evaluation method may be used to objectively assess mental health nursing knowledge, skills, and attitudes in conjunction with existing clinical assessment methods to provide a valid, reliable measure of clinical competence. More testing is needed.

Psychometric properties of clinical competency assessment instruments for psychiatric nurses

“…[ 29 ] Only Stockman et al . [ 13 ] presented criterion validity, but the questionnaire used (Pierr et al . questionnaire 2004) as criterion had no validity and reliability.…”

“…Data were extracted according to the following topics: The purpose of the study, the target population, the main findings, and the instrument characteristics [ Table 1 ]. [ 13 26 27 28 29 30 ]…”

“…The evaluation may be risked due to the lack of standardization and investigation of a limited number of clinical problems. [ 13 ] Furthermore, traditional clinical examination tools often do not have psychometric properties. [ 14 15 ] As a result, the validity and reliability of traditional clinical studies are questionable.…”

“…Some researchers have examined nurses’ competency for caring of people with psychiatric disorders, including Stockman et al ., Robbins and Hoke. [ 4 13 ] However, with the best knowledge of researchers, limited studies have examined the competency of postgraduate psychiatric nurses to care for people with psychiatric disorders. Nowadays, the selection of appropriate and relevant measurement tools is emphasized, which is as important as the research and the science production.…”

Addressing Real Needs With Simulation-Based Tools and Good Research Methods

“…As noted by the researchers (Stockmann et al, 2019) in our next article, the assessment process that accompanies direct observation can be subjective. The researchers observed that Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCE) have been used Table 1.…”