Assessment of the Methods of Testing Clinical Competence of Nursing Students in Nigeria
##plugins.themes.bootstrap3.article.main##
The study assessed the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) and Traditional Practical Examination (TPE) methods of testing Nursing Students’ Clinical competence in Nigeria by examining the strengths and weaknesses of OSCE and TPE as perceived by Nurse Educators and Nursing Students in Osun State, Nigeria. Descriptive research design of the survey type was used in the study.
The population of the study comprised Seven Hundred and Fifteen (715) Nursing Students and Seventy-Five (75) Nurse Educators in Private and Public Nursing Institutions in Osun State, Nigeria. A sample of Three Hundred and Eighteen (318) participants was used which consisted of Two Hundred and Eighty-Eight (288) Nursing Students and Thirty (30) Nurse Educators drawn from Public and Private Nursing Institutions in Osun State, Nigeria using a multi-stage sampling procedure.
Two research instruments were used to collect data for the study which were: Questionnaire on Students’ Assessment (QSA) administered to the students, and Questionnaires on Teachers’ Assessment (QTA) administered to the Nurse Educators. Validity of the instruments was ensured using expert judgment while the reliability of the instruments was estimated using the Cronbach Alpha reliability method. The reliability coefficients of QSA and QTA were 0.87 and 0.84 respectively. Two Research questions were raised, and two hypotheses were formulated for the study. Frequency counts and percentages were used to answer the research questions while the hypotheses were tested using a student’s t-test at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study indicated that the students perceived that OSCE has more strengths than TPE while Nursing Educators were of the view that the two methods complement each other. Based on the findings of the study, it is concluded that each of the methods has its weaknesses and strengths, and therefore, it is recommended that the two methods should be jointly used in training and testing Nursing students’ clinical competence in Nigeria.
References
-
Ameh, N; Abdul, M.A; Adesiyun, G.A; & Avidime S. (2014). objective structured clinical examination vs traditional clinical examination: an assessment of students’ perception and preference in a Nigerian medical school. Niger Med J, 55(4), 310–313. Retrieved on 08/09/2017. from: http://www. nigeriamedj.com.
Google Scholar
1
-
Engida, A. G; Reiye, E; & Kibrom, G. (2015) Perception of final year medical students about objective structured clinical examination in the department of general surgery. Ethiop Med J, 53(4),105–107 retrieved on 17/08/2017 Pubmed.
Google Scholar
2
-
Emuobo, J. M; Adnah V.Y & Nduka E. N. (2015). Clinical assessment methods in general nursing programs in Nigeria. African Journal of Nursing and Midwifery, 2(6), 347–351. Retrieved on 03/08/2017 online at www.internationalscholarsjournals.org.
Google Scholar
3
-
Edward, M. I & Okanlawon, F. (2016). Comparative study of objective structured clinical examination and traditional practical examination in assessment of nursing students’ clinical competencies in southwest Nigeria. Biomed Rev: J Basic Appl Med Sci, 3(1), 17–25. doi: 10.17511/jbams. 2016 .01.04.
Google Scholar
4
-
Omu, F. E. (2016). Attitudes of nursing faculty members and graduates towards the objective structured clinical examination (OSCE). Open Journal of Nursing, 6(1), 353–364. Published Online May 2016 in SciRes. http://www.scirp.org/journal/ojn http://dx.doi.org/10.4236 .
Google Scholar
5
-
Osaji T.A,Opiah M.M,& Onasoga O.A (2015). OSCE/OSPE: A tool for objectivity in general nursing examination in Nigeria. Journal of Research in Nursing and Midwifery, 4(3),52–97. http:/dx.doi.org/10.14303/JRNM.2015.035.
Google Scholar
6
-
Raziani Y, Nazari A, Raziani, S. (2022). Nursing students’ experiences with the objective structured clinical examination (OSCE): A qualitative study. International Journal of Africa Nursing Sciences, 16, 100433. Elsevier. Retrieved on 7/08/2022.
Google Scholar
7
-
Masood, J.; Zubia, M, & Farhat, J. (2014). Students’ perception of surgical objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) at Dow university of health sciences. J Postgrad Med Inst, 28(1), 19–23.
Google Scholar
8
-
Nazim, N; Mohammad, R. A; Waqas, S; & Khwaja, M. A. (2015). Student’s perception on objective structured practical examination in college of applied medical sciences. International Journal of Advanced Research, 3(6), 535–540 retrieved from http://www. journalijar.com on 11/09/2017.
Google Scholar
9
-
Nursing & Midwifery Council of Nigeria, (NMCN) (2018). List of approved schools and colleges of nursing in Nigeria. www.nmcnigeria.org. 25/05/2018.
Google Scholar
10
-
Council of Nigeria, (NMCN) (2022). Circular on computer-based test for professional examinations of nursing and midwifery Council of Nigeria. www.nmcn.gov.ng. June 27, 2022.
Google Scholar
11