NURSING STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF THE OBJECTIVE STRUCTURED CLINICAL EXAMINATION (OSCE): A QUALITY ASSURANCE FACTOR BASED ON AMEE GUIDE

Abstract

Background: The Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) is a global standard for assessing clinical skills. Since 2022, the Nursing Department at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City, adopted AMEE Guide No. 81, but students' perceptions of OSCE remained underexplored.

Objectives: To describe nursing students' perceptions of OSCE and examine the relationship between OSCE performance and demographic or perceptual factors.

Methods: A cross-sectional study involving 216 third- and fourth-year nursing students who took the OSCE in 2022 was conducted. A 32-item questionnaire (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.872) was utilized, analyzed using SPSS 16.0 with Spearman correlation and independent t-tests (p <0.05).

Results: Most students perceived OSCE as fair (83.3%), comprehensive in knowledge and skills (84.3%, 88.4%), but stressful (80.1%) and intimidating (64.3%) due to time pressure (77.7%). Exam stations were rated as logically sequenced (77.8%), reflective of course content (72.7%), and fair (67.1%). No significant differences in OSCE performance were observed between groups of gender (p = 0.81) or ethnicity (p = 0.81). OSCE performance showed weak correlations with perceptions of OSCE attributes and quality.

Conclusion: Students perceived OSCE positively, though improvements in exam conditions and preparatory activities are necessary. Student feedback is vital for enhancing OSCE quality.

Keywords: perception of student; Objective Structured Clinical Examination; clinical education assessment