Nursing Students' Perceptions Regarding Modality Use of the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE)

Abstract

Background: The Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) has become a widely accepted method for assessing clinical competence based on objective testing among maternity nursing students, which need for understanding this examination so they can enter the debate on this issue. The aim of this study was to evaluate nursing student’s perceptions regarding the use of the Objective Structured Clinical Examination as a nontraditional method of clinical evaluation. Subjects and Methods: Research design: A cross-sectional descriptive design was conducted. Subjects: A random sample of (88) third year nursing students were recruited in the study. Setting: the study was conducted in Obstetrics and Gynecology nursing lab at Qena Faculty of Nursing - South Valley University. Tools of data collection were collected through one main tool: A structured interview questionnaire, distributed to the nursing students at the end of the examination of perception of students about the OSCE as a method of evaluation. Results: of the study indicated that the perceptions of the third year nursing students regarding the OSCE. It was found that 85.2% of them considered the OSCE as the best method of evaluation. Moreover, 79.5% suggested that they need to training about using the OSCE and preparation before the final exam. The correlation between “perception score” and “conversation skills score” = 0.943 which means the existence of a strong statistical positive relationship between both of them. Conclusion: In spite of the needed training about the OSCE, nursing students’ perceived it as a fair and better method of evaluation as it covers a wide range of skills and improves their assessment of clinical competence. Recommendation: The researchers recommended that replication of the research on a large probability sample is recommended for generalizing the findings.

Keywords: Objective Structured Clinical Examination, Students Perception, Maternity Nurses