Nursing students' feedback from the comprehensive clinical competency exam at the end of the undergraduate course in 2019: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Introduction: Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) is a valuable method in clinical evaluation of nursing students.  The OSCE was first held in Nasibeh School of Nursing and Midwifery. The successful outcome of this exam encouraged other Nursing school to use the OSCE in evaluating the nursing studentschr('39') clinical competency before their completion of undergraduate course. The aim of this study was to investigate the feedback of fourth year nursing studentschr('39') feedback about OSCE as an assessment tool for their clinical competence and skills.

Material and Methods: This study has a cross sectional descriptive design. All of the 36 undergraduate nursing students in the eighth semester who attended the OSCE Exam at the Nasibeh School of Nursing and Midwifery affiliated to Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences participated in this study. The questionnaire was designed and developed by the researchers.  The questionnaire assesses nursing studentschr('39') viewpoints of the OSCE characteristics.   

Results: The results of this study show that OSCE has been accepted by the most of the undergraduate nursing students as an evaluation method for their clinical competency.  For most students OSCE was reliable, covered a wide range of discipline and fair aspects. Having the OSCE was a positive practical experience for most students. However, several students felt that OSCE was not hold properly.

Conclusion: The feedback received regarding this evaluation method provides evidence that OSCE is a valuable method for evaluating undergraduate nursing studentschr('39') competency. Such feedback is considered helpful for further development of OSCE.