The objective structured clinical examination as an assessment strategy for clinical competence in novice nursing practitioners in Taiwan

Abstract

Background The conventional written tests and professional assessment have limitation in fair judgement of clinical competence. Because the examiners may not have total objectivity and may lack standardization throughout the assessment process. We sought to design a valid method of competence assessment in medical and nursing specialties. This work was aimed to develop an Objective Structured Clinical Exam (OSCE) to evaluate novice nursing practitioners’ clinical competency, work stress, professional confidence, and career satisfaction. Methods A Quasi-experimental study (pre-post). Fifty-five novice nursing practitioners received the OSCE three-months following their graduation, which consisted of four stations: history taking, physical examination, problem-directed management, interpersonal communication, and the required techniques of related procedures. The examiners had to complete an assessment checklist, and the participants had to complete a pre-post questionnaire (modified from a Nursing Competency Questionnaire, a Stress scale, and Satisfaction with Learning scale). Results Among the novice nursing practitioners, 41 of them (74.5 %) passed the exam with a mean score of 61.38 ± 8.34. There was a significantly higher passing rate among nurses who were working in medical-surgical wards (85.7 %) and the intensive care unit-emergency department (77.8 %) compared to novice nursing practitioners working in other units. All the novice nursing practitioners at Station A had poor performance in assessing patients with a fever. OSCE performance was more associated with educational attainment and work unit, rather than the gender. Finally, the participants showed statistically significant increases in their clinical competency, confidence in their professional competence, satisfaction with the clinical practice, and decreased work stress after the OSCE. Conclusions We found that the OSCE process had a positive educational effect, in providing a meaningful and accurate assessment of the competence of novice nursing practitioners. An appropriate OSCE program is vital for novice nursing practitioners, educators, and administrators. The effective application of OSCEs can help novice nursing practitioners gain confidence in their clinical skills.

Analysis of satisfaction levels and perceptions of clinical competency: a mixed method study on objective structured clinical examinations in undergraduate dental students

“…Furthermore, this study contributes to the existing body of knowledge by reinforcing the well-documented effectiveness of OSCEs in evaluating clinical competencies. This is in line with research by Azer SA [ 20 ] and Chen et al [ 21 ], both highlighted the utility of OSCEs in comprehensively assessing clinical skills. The observed positive trends in diagnostic skills, treatment planning abilities, and technical proficiency reported in our study highlighted that; OSCEs effectively contribute to the development of practical competencies among dental students.…”

“…The perceived development of clinical competencies among participants, particularly in diagnostic skills, treatment planning abilities, and technical proficiency, reflects positively on the educational impact of OSCEs. Comparable studies (Chen et al [ 21 ] and Zhang et al [ 26 ]) have reported similar trends, emphasizing the utility of OSCEs in developing practical skills and knowledge application. However, the study’s identification of concerns related to time limitations and the predominant assessment of knowledge in OSCEs is in line with the broader discourse on the challenges associated with this assessment method (Boursicot et al [ 27 ] and Brannick et al [ 28 ]).…”

Development, Validity and Reliability of Objective Structured Clinical Examination in Nursing Students

“…Incorporating an OSCE during the curriculum allows the student to determine his or her level of competence and establish individual objectives during the training. In addition, it allows teachers to gain better knowledge about the group and incorporate cases into teaching that facilitate the integration of knowledge, skills and behavior to improve their performance ( Chen et al, 2021 ).…”

Evaluating knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Regarding Interruption of Enteral Nutrition in ICU Medical staff:A descriptive cross-sectional survey

“…Meanwhile, the transformation of knowledge into behavior requires professional education and training as a bridge. It suggested that hospital managers should broaden their horizons, actively promote feasible strategies and use fragmented time to provide targeted training [24], then gradually improve the breadth and depth of knowledge about enteral nutrition for ICU healthcare staff. The correlation coe cient between the attitude dimension and the behavioral dimension scores was(r:0.463), which demonstrated that attitude of enteral nutrition interruption among ICU medical staff can positively affect their related behaviors.…”

“…Based on the results, enteral nutrition managers should consider the ways to Management and training, grasp the knowledge situation of ICU medical staff in the hospital, understand their cognitive level, pay attention to the training effect, and focused on the training of new ICU medical staff. In the way and content of education and training, manager can Implement interprofessional educationa[28-29] and Scenario simulation training combined with multi-station assessment [30]; use mind mapping [31] to arrange the training structure and content system thus forming a variety of training methods, dynamic assessment, evaluation and feedback. It also advised the administrator to take means to help ICU medical professionals fully grasp the knowledge and skills related to enteral nutrition interruption, thus reducing the adverse effects of enteral nutrition interruption on the clinical outcomes of ICU patients.…”