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

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.