International Journal of Nursing Education

An integral part of a nursing curriculum is an appropriate assessment of skill of the nursing students. The Objective Structured Practical Examination (OSPE) can assess practical competencies in an appropriate, step-wise, methodical, objective and time-orientated manner with direct observation of the student's performance during planned clinical test stations.1

The purpose of the study was to determine the nursing students’ perception of OSPE.

A descriptive survey approach was adopted to determine the nursing students’ perception of OSPE. A sample of 55 2nd year BSc Nursing Students of Sankar Madhab College of Nursing were selected by using nonprobability purposive sampling technique. The data collection was done in two phases after the approval from the Institutional Ethical Committee and informed consent was taken from the individual student. In Phase I, the students participating in the study were introduced to OSPE system by a short lecture and an orientation programme was organized for faculty members participating in the study as observers. A total of 55 students were divided into 2 groups of 27 & 28 each, examined for 2 days. For the OSPE, students were oriented by an OSPE map and a written instruction list before the start of the exams. The OSPE consisted of five stations on Intravenous Cannulation (3 Observed station, 1unobserved station and a Rest Station) of 3–6 minutes each. The stations were Station 1(Unobserved)-Sites of Intravenous cannulation (3 mins), Station 2 (Observed)-Identification of the size of Cannula (3 mints), Station 3(Unobserved)- Complication of Intravenous Cannulation (3 mints), Station 4- Rest Station, Station 5-Intravenous Procedure Demonstration.(6 mints). Marks were allotted for each station except for rest station. In Phase II, at the end of OSPE session data were collected by using a self-administered structured checklist consisting of five broad based themes as (1) Information received on OSPE (2) Atmosphere of OSPE (3) Stations of OSPE (4) Conduction of Examination (5) Overall view on OSPE with 27 items. Frequencies and percentages were used to analyse and interpret the data.

The findings reveal a positive perception towards information received on OSPE (87%), atmosphere of OSPE (79%), stations of OSPE (90%), conduct of examination on OSPE (89%) and overall view on OSPE (89%).

Inspite of the limited use of OSPE in nursing in India, the current study showed a positive perception towards OSPE as a fair, unbiased, valid, reliable assessment method.