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

摘要

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.