Perceptions of Lebanese nursing students and examiners regarding the Objective Structured Clinical Examination Method (OSCE) in nursing fundamentals: A mixed method study

Objective structured clinical examination: Do first-year nursing students perceive it to be stressful?

“…Several studies conducted on dental, medical and nursing students have found the OSCE considerably more stressful than other forms of assessments (Alamri et al 2022 :8; Raziani et al 2022 :5; Vincent et al 2022 :1). It causes confusion, and distraction reduces the academic performance (Fawaz & Alsalamah 2021 :6; Raziani et al 2022 :5). In the current study, the majority of students perceived stress at a moderate level during their first OSCE.…”

“…This is congruent with previous studies. In a study conducted in Oman, the participants stated that the time allocated to read the OSCE instructions and the time allocated to complete the procedure were insufficient (Alamri et al 2022 :8; Bani-Issa et al 2019 :86; Fawaz & Alsalamah 2021 :3; Majumder et al 2019 :390). In another study conducted in Spain, the researchers found that the students displayed pre-emptive anxiety before the exam in anticipation of the unfamiliar event (Sánchez-Conde, Beltrán-Velasco & Clemente-Suárez 2022 :5).…”

“…During the OSCE examination, students are observed while they demonstrate clinical behaviours or skills in standardised patient encounters (Al-Hamed 2021 :188). However, Fawaz and Alsalamah ( 2021 :6) acknowledge that while the OSCE can promote better performance and prepare students for the reality of clinical practice, it also induces stress for students. According to Lazarus and Folkman ( 1984 ), stress is defined as:…”

“…Stress during the OSCE has been alluded to in existing literature. In a study reviewing papers across several countries (the United States [US], United Kingdom [UK], Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Zambia) about the use of OSCE in nursing education and another study examining the OSCE Review perspectives of university nursing students and examiners to appraise necessary nursing skills, researchers found that a small amount of stress acts as a motivator, enhancing performance and encouraging the student to try harder (Al-Hamed 2021 :186; Fawaz & Alsalamah 2021 :6). On the other hand, excessive, undue and unnecessary stress was found to be disruptive to mental processes that are essential for students to perform well (Mojarrab, Bazrafkan & Jaberi 2020 :5).…”

Health science students’ perceptions about Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) as a method of clinical evaluation

“…Therefore, incorporating the OSCE as an appraisal approach and evaluation method for practical clinical skills is highly advised to consider early planning for clinical courses to alleviate students' anxiety and stress levels with the test and enhance their results. It was proposed enhancing the OSCE procedure by expanding the pre-examination training and introducing a mixed learning approach to maximize responsiveness to activities of OSCE [48]. It was urged the academic faculty to take preparation measures thoughtfully to lessen students' stress during OSCE or remove it [20].…”