Flipping the Objective Structured Clinical Examination: A Teaching Innovation in Graduate Nursing Education

Exploring Undergraduate Students' Perspectives on Endodontic Treatment: A Cross-Sectional Study in Makkah

Background Students at two universities in Saudi Arabia found endodontics or root canal treatment (RCT) difficult due to challenges in the procedures. Until now, there has been no evidence that Umm Al-Qura University students face difficulties when performing RCT. Therefore, this study aims to explore students' perceptions of the critical steps in RCT. Methods A survey was conducted among 146 dental students at Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia to assess their perceptions and challenges during RCT. Demographic information was collected in the first section, while the second section focused on identifying difficulties encountered during endodontic treatment stages. All participants provided signed electronic consent, and the study was approved by the university's institutional review board. Chi-squared tests were used to analyze the results. Results In a survey of 123 students, 94 (76.2%) found the endodontic specialty acceptable compared to other dental specialties (P < 0.001). Eighty-eight (71.5%) found RCT on the molars difficult (P < 0.001). Most students, 104 (84.6%), chose to have more clinical training to improve their clinical endodontic skills, and 77 (62.6%) chose to increase the number of instructors per student in the clinic (P < 0.05). Difficulties in performing RCT on premolars and during root canal obturation were statistically correlated with the academic year of the student (P < 0.05). Conclusion Dental students often struggle when performing RCT on molars. Some difficulties during RCT are correlated with the academic year of the student. Finally, from the students' perspective, improving endodontic skills involves providing better clinical training opportunities and increasing instructor-to-student ratios.

Scoping review: Diagnostic reasoning as a component of clinical reasoning in the U.S. primary care nurse practitioner education

AIMS

Diagnostic Reasoning (DR) is an essential competency requiring mastery for safe, independent Nurse Practitioner (NP) practice, but little is known about DR content included in NP education programs. The aims of this study were to identify whether and how the concept of DR is addressed in NP education.

DESIGN

We conducted a scoping review on DR-related content and teaching innovations in U.S. primary care NP education programs, with implications for NP education programs worldwide. Concepts and principles with global applicability include: conducting focused and hypothesis-directed histories and exams, generating the problem statement, formulating the differential diagnosis, appropriate and relevant diagnostic testing, determining the working diagnosis and developing evidence-based, patient-centred management plans.

DATA SOURCES

N = 1115 articles retrieved from Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, and CINAHL for the period 2005-2021. Forty-one scholarly articles met inclusion/exclusion criteria.

REVIEW METHODS

Data were extracted, synthesized and grouped by theoretical frameworks, content included, educational interventions and assessment measures.

RESULTS

Most articles provided descriptions of approaches for teaching NP clinical or diagnostic reasoning. Ten papers directly referenced the current science and theory of DR.

CONCLUSION

The US NP education literature addressing DR is limited and demonstrates a lack of shared conceptualizations of DR. Whilst numerous components of DR are identifiable in the literature, a robust teaching/learning scholarship for DR has not yet been established in the US NP education literature.

IMPACT

Whilst primary care NP education programs are beginning to incorporate DR education into their curricula, little research has been conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of educational outcomes. Increased integration of DR content into NP education is needed, including increased educational research on teaching DR competencies.

PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

No patient or public contribution was included in this review, as the public is generally not familiar with DR or its teaching approaches.

Psychometric testing and cost of a five-station OSCE for newly graduated nurses

BACKGROUND

The Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) is widely used in nursing education, but its implementation is costly and resource intensive, potentially limiting its feasibility. A five-station OSCE was designed to replace a previously validated 12-station OSCE but was not evaluated for its psychometric properties.

PURPOSE

This study aimed to evaluate the validity, reliability, acceptability, educational impact, and cost of a five-station OSCE using Van der Vleuten's utility formula.

METHODS

This study was based on a cross-sectional, nonexperimental design involving psychometric testing, a survey, and a cost analysis.

RESULTS

The five-station OSCE showed high content and predictive validity and inter-rater reliability among examiners. The OSCE format was well accepted by participants and achieved a cost saving of 45.2% compared with the 12-station format.

CONCLUSIONS

The five-station OSCE provides an authentic and objective assessment of competence among newly graduated nurses.

A serious game for online-based objective structured clinical examination in nursing: A qualitative study

BACKGROUND

The current pandemic has led to unprecedented scenarios worldwide. In this context, educational institutions had to move abruptly from in-person to online classes, having to be flexible and innovative, one of the main concerns being the semester-end examinations in practical modules.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to explore nursing students' perceptions of the use of a serious game-like model in their final online objective structured clinical examination (OSCE).

DESIGN

An exploratory phenomenological study was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, in particular during June 2020.

SETTINGS

This study took place at the University of Almeria with nursing students enrolled in a clinical placement module.

PARTICIPANTS

Eighty-nine fourth-year nursing students took part in this study.

METHODS

Following the educational principles of the OSCE, a virtual OSCE was designed, using the Genially platform, an online platform for creating interactive content, to set up an assessment as a story-telling game-like model. A total of 5 focus groups (FGs) were conducted afterwards via the GoogleMeet platform. In addition, 30 semi-structured interviews were performed via the same platform. The data was analysed using a content analysis approach and supported by the ATLAS.ti 8.4 software.

RESULTS

Our finding revealed 2 main themes and 4 sub-themes. The two main themes were (i) generating emotions and feelings in times of virtuality; including emotions and feelings experienced by students during their online assessment process, and (ii) online assessment: a potential alternative to educational barriers; describing the variability of traditional modality, its implications for learning and the acquisition of competences.

CONCLUSIONS

Serious game-like models, such as the story-telling game proposed, as part of their online OSCE assessment appear to be an appropriate alternative assessment method for face-to-face approaches. This paper adds new evidence on the use of innovative and state-of-art resources as part of nursing OSCE assessments in a new reality for most students and teachers. Serious game-like models in online OSCE may empower students and help them to remove perceived barriers in face-to-face assessments.

Using Objective Structured Clinical Examination as a Teaching Tool in a Hybrid Advanced Health Assessment Course

BACKGROUND

Advanced health assessment is a required course in advanced practice RN (APRN) education, essential to providing the foundation for differential diagnosis (DD) skills and the ability to formulate a plan of care.

PROBLEM

Feedback from clinical preceptors revealed that our doctor of nursing practice (DNP) students struggled to make a DD.

APPROACH

This educational quality improvement project collected data from 7 cohorts of DNP students in either the Family Nurse Practitioner or Adult Gerontology Nurse Practitioner program to evaluate their readiness for clinical practicums and to inform necessary curriculum revisions.

OUTCOMES

Data revealed that students' ability to identify 3 DDs correctly during the summative health assessment objective structured clinical examination was inconsistent. Qualitative data revealed students lacked understanding on how to use results from the physical assessment to formulate a DD.

CONCLUSION

The findings of this project corroborate those from the literature that suggest we should teach APRN students DD skills explicitly.

Lessons Learned Transitioning from Traditional Premedical and Medical Education to E-learning Platforms during the COVID-19 Pandemic within the United Arab Emirates

Educational systems across the globe were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and faculty, staff, and students had to rapidly transition to e-learning platforms. These groups had little preparation to cope with the challenges of this newly adopted system. However, as we begin to emerge from the COVID-19 era, efforts are being made to assess the impact of this transition and develop a framework of best practices to help educators prepare for possible future disruptions. This commentary aims to discuss some of the challenges associated with the rapid transition to the new academic environment, including the modes of instruction employed, technical obstacles encountered, student responses to change and efforts made to evaluate didactic and practical aspects of the curriculum in the contexts of premedical and medical education, at the newly established College of Medicine at Khalifa University of Science and Technology in the United Arab Emirates.

State of Simulation Research in Advanced Practice Nursing Education

Simulation is used in advanced practice nursing education for both formative learning experiences and summative competency testing. However, there has been a lack of cohesive data to support the use of simulation as a replacement for direct patient care hours. This chapter presents an overview of research designs and the leveled Kirkpatrick framework used in simulation research. Research articles evaluating the effect of simulation on advanced practice learners are presented by research design and Kirkpatrick level. There is evidence that simulation has a positive impact on Kirkpatrick Level 1 (Reactions) and Kirkpatrick Level 2 (Changes in Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes). However, there is a tremendous need for evidence that simulation can impact Kirkpatrick Level 3 (Behavior) and Level 4 (Results and Outcomes).