A Mental Health Objective Structured Clinical Examination to Evaluate Undergraduate Nursing Students’ Clinical Competence

The purpose of this study was to establish the psychometrics of a 12-station mental health Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) to evaluate the clinical competence of undergraduate nursing students. A convenience sample of 65 first-semester senior-level undergraduate students participated. Content validities for the OSCE checklist and stations were established. Interrater reliability was statistically significant. Correlations between the OSCE and final course exam and grade were not statistically significant. Students described the OSCE as a beneficial learning experience but felt unprepared. This OSCE was initially established as a reliable, valid tool to objectively assess nursing competence.