Abstract
Background: Objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) are an effective method of instruction and evaluation. Their use in nurse practitioner (NP) programs as a means of evaluation warrants further exploration.
Purpose: The purpose of this project was to test the applicability and feasibility of implementation of OSCEs as a means of formative evaluation in a primary care NP program and to determine student feedback about the experience.
Methods: This project evaluated the implementation of an educational intervention using 2 previously developed and tested OSCE scenarios with standardized patients.
Results: Mean scores were computed for the subcategories, as well as for global rating scores on the OSCE. Strong correlations were found across categories within the scenario; no correlations were found between scenarios. Moderate intraclass correlation coefficients were achieved. Student feedback about the experience, including perceived competence and confidence, was overwhelmingly positive.
Conclusions: This project demonstrates success of a pilot OSCE program.