Validity of objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) in psychiatric nursing.

The Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) recommended in nursing education is a new concept in practical assessment especially in psychiatric nursing. The validity of the examination is improved in OSCE as this tool tests both the process and the product with much importance to individual competency. A cross sectional study was conducted at Apollo College of Nursing, Chennai, affiliated to Tamilnadu Dr M. G. R Medical University among the, 3^rd B. Sc Nursing students using simulated patients. Participants included 80 students selected through purposive sampling technique. Data was collected by evaluating the students ’performance using predetermined selfdeveloped station checklists in OSCE and answer keys in other form of examinations by the examiners. Validity was established by correlating OSCE scores with examination scores obtained by students in short answers test, and second term examination in psychiatric nursing. Collected data was entered in SPSS-16, and analyzed using appropriate descriptive and inferential statistics. OSCE scores show a high positive correlation with short answers test (0.86) and Term Examination (0.82) which was found to be statistically significant (P<0.001) indicating the good concurrent validity of OSCE. Thus this study was conducted to assess the students ’performance and validity of OSCE as a part of evaluation in Psychiatric Nursing.