The objective structured clinical examination within intensive care nursing education

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The objective structured clinical examination is commonly referred to as an 'OSCE' and is a way of assessing a student's competency with clinical skills. The OSCE involves the student demonstrating a skill during a simulated clinical situation in a controlled environment instead of using real patients in the practice setting. Post-registered nursing courses are now beginning to use the OSCE as a form of summative assessment either as replacement for or in addition to skills assessed by a mentor in practice. AIM: This paper aims to reflect back on a recent experience of introducing an OSCE into a post-registered, degree level intensive care nursing programme. METHODS: The process of reflection will be used throughout the analysis following the Six Thinking Hats tool. CONCLUSIONS: Organizing and implementing an OSCE for an intensive care nursing programme required a great deal of preparation and time of the teacher but also offered various benefits and advantages compared with other forms of assessment. Disadvantages and limitations of the OSCE are also identified in this article along with recommendations and practical advice for other teachers, examiners and students participating in OSCEs.