Objective structured clinical examination vs traditional clinical examination to evaluate students' clinical competence: A systematic review of nursing faculty and students' perceptions and experiences

Abstract

Background: Assessment of clinical competence of nursing students is an essential requirement in professional nursing education. This article summarizes the current published evidence indicating the nursing faculty and students' perceptions and experiences on benefits of OSCE over TCE.

Methods: A systematic review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) recommendations. Electronic databases including Scopus, Medline, Science Direct, CINAHL, EBSCO, PsychINFO, and Pubmed Central were used to identify relevant articles. The studies published between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2020 and fourteen full-text articles that met all the inclusion criteria were included in the review.

Results: The review identified five themes namely: a) Student's perception of OSCE; b) student's satisfaction regarding OSCE as an examination approach; c) students' perception of TCE as an examination approach; d) student's level of stress and anxiety towards OSCE vs TCE; and e) faculty member's perception and experience of OSCE.

Conclusion: We conclude that OSCE is a more credible assessment format to evaluate the clinical competence of undergraduate nursing students compared to the TCE method.

Keywords: Clinical competence; Nursing faculty; OSCE; Traditional clinical examination; Undergraduate nursing students.