Nursing Students’ Perception and Attitude toward Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) in Oman

Objective: To explore undergraduate nursing students’ perception and attitude toward the OSCE. Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted between April-May 2020, among undergraduate nursing students in the College of Nursing at Sultan Qaboos University. Two self-administered questionnaires were employed to obtain data on students’ perception and attitude toward OSCE. Students’ feedback on OSCE was collected using open-ended questions about OSCE strengths, weakness, and recommendation for improvement. Surveys responses were based on a 5-point ordinal scale ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree. Students’ Feedback on OSCE was analyzed as descriptive data by identifying the common themes and categorize them in groups. Results: A total of 160 students completed the study questionnaires. Most agreed that OSCE atmosphere is not good (66.3%) and it shouldn’t be the only mode of practical Examination (40.6%). Also, 64.4% of the students felt that timing allocated to complete the skills was not adequate. The data shows that 33.1% of the examinees felt that OSCE examination is more stressful than clinical examination. In addition, few students supported that OSCE has improved their communication skills and it increased their confidence level to perform nursing skills. Conclusion: The findings of this study appear alarming in regard to students’ perception about the overall process and the validity of OSCE examination as an assessment method. Nursing educators need to consider further evaluation and improvement of the OSCE in order to improve students’ acceptance and appreciation of OSCE as an important form of clinical learning and as an assessment method. Keywords: Objective Structured Clinical Examination; Nursing Education; Baccalaureate; Evaluation; Attitude; Nursing Students; Practical Nursing