Design of a nursing objective structured clinical examination of a first-year clinical practice program.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to design a content-valid nursing objective structured clinical examination attending a first-year clinical nursing practice program. METHOD: The examination was designed following a procedure based on the consensus of experts which was comprised of three phases: selection of the activities in which students should be competent according to the learning outcomes of the course, clinical case design, and integration of the clinical cases designed into the stations of the test. RESULTS: Of the 44 surveys submitted for the design of the stations, 37 were answered, of which 31 respondents met the inclusion criteria of the panel of experts. The activities on which the experts reached the highest degrees of consensus were: basic physical assessment and monitoring of vital signs, assessment of hygiene and skin status, ability to develop care plans, management of safety principles in administration of medication and administration of oral medication. Based on the selected activities, the experts developed 20 clinical cases, from which a four-station nursing objective structured clinical examination was designed. CONCLUSION: The structured methodology based on the design of experts enabled the design of a content-valid objective structured clinical examination appropriate for the evaluation of the learning outcomes achieved by the students attending a clinical practice program.

Design of a nursing objective structured clinical examination of a first-year clinical practice program / Projeto de um exame clínico estruturado objetivo de enfermagem de um programa de prática clínica do primeiro ano / Diseño de una prueba de evaluación clínica objetiva estructurada de cuidados de enfermería del primer curso de prácticas clínicas

ABSTRACT Objective: The aim of the present study was to design a content-valid nursing objective structured clinical examination attending a first-year clinical nursing practice program. Method: The examination was designed following a procedure based on the consensus of experts which was comprised of three phases: selection of the activities in which students should be competent according to the learning outcomes of the course, clinical case design, and integration of the clinical cases designed into the stations of the test. Results: Of the 44 surveys submitted for the design of the stations, 37 were answered, of which 31 respondents met the inclusion criteria of the panel of experts. The activities on which the experts reached the highest degrees of consensus were: basic physical assessment and monitoring of vital signs, assessment of hygiene and skin status, ability to develop care plans, management of safety principles in administration of medication and administration of oral medication. Based on the selected activities, the experts developed 20 clinical cases, from which a four-station nursing objective structured clinical examination was designed. Conclusion: The structured methodology based on the design of experts enabled the design of a content-valid objective structured clinical examination appropriate for the evaluation of the learning outcomes achieved by the students attending a clinical practice program.

RESUMO Objetivo: O objetivo do presente estudo foi elaborar um exame clínico estruturado de objetivos de enfermagem com conteúdo válido, participando de um programa de prática clínica de enfermagem do primeiro ano. Método: O exame foi elaborado seguindo um procedimento baseado no consenso de especialistas que compreendeu três fases: seleção das atividades nas quais os alunos deveriam ser competentes de acordo com os resultados de aprendizagem do curso, desenho do caso clínico e integração do quadro clínico casos projetados para as estações do teste. Resultados: Das 44 pesquisas submetidas para a concepção das estações, 37 foram respondidas, das quais 31 respondentes atenderam aos critérios de inclusão do painel de especialistas. As atividades nas quais os especialistas alcançaram maior grau de consenso foram: avaliação física básica e monitoramento dos sinais vitais, avaliação da higiene e do estado da pele, capacidade de desenvolver planos de cuidados, gestão dos princípios de segurança na administração de medicamentos e administração de medicamentos orais. Com base nas atividades selecionadas, os especialistas desenvolveram 20 casos clínicos, a partir dos quais foi elaborado um exame clínico estruturado objetivo de enfermagem em quatro estações. Conclusão: A metodologia estruturada baseada na concepção de especialistas permitiu a concepção de um exame clínico estruturado objetivo válido e de conteúdo adequado para a avaliação dos resultados de aprendizagem alcançados pelos alunos que frequentam um programa de prática clínica.

RESUMEN Objetivo: El objetivo de este estudio fue diseñar una Evaluación Clínica Objetiva Estructurada con validez de contenido para evaluar el nivel de competencias de estudiantes de primer curso de formación practico-clínica enfermera. Método: Se diseñó la prueba siguiendo un procedimiento basado en consenso de expertos con tres fases: selección de las actividades en la que los alumnos debían ser competentes en base a los resultados de aprendizaje de la asignatura, diseño de casos clínicos, e integración de los casos clínicos diseñados en las estaciones de la prueba. Resultados: Las actividades que alcanzaron mayor consenso por parte de los expertos fueron: valoración física básica y monitorización de signos vitales, valoración de la higiene y estado de la piel, capacidad para elaborar planes de cuidados, manejo de los principios de seguridad en la administración de medicación y administración de medicación oral. En base a las actividades seleccionadas, los expertos elaboraron 20 casos clínicos, a partir de los cuales se diseñó una evaluación clínica objetiva estructurada de cuidados de enfermería formada por cuatro estaciones. Conclusión: La metodología estructurada basada en el diseño de expertos permitió el diseño de una evaluación clínica objetiva estructurada adecuada para evaluar los resultados de aprendizaje alcanzados por los estudiantes de primer curso de formación práctico-clínica.

A Student Assessment Tool for Standardized Patient Simulations (SAT-SPS): Psychometric analysis.

BACKGROUND: The evaluation of the level of clinical competence acquired by the student is a complex process that must meet various requirements to ensure its quality. The psychometric analysis of the data collected by the assessment tools used is a fundamental aspect to guarantee the student's competence level. AIM: To conduct a psychometric analysis of an instrument which assesses clinical competence in nursing students at simulation stations with standardized patients in OSCE-format tests. METHOD: The construct of clinical competence was operationalized as a set of observable and measurable behaviors, measured by the newly-created Student Assessment Tool for Standardized Patient Simulations (SAT-SPS), which was comprised of 27 items. The categories assigned to the items were 'incorrect or not performed' (0), 'acceptable' (1), and 'correct' (2). PARTICIPANTS: 499 nursing students. Data were collected by two independent observers during the assessment of the students' performance at a four-station OSCE with standardized patients. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the variables. The difficulty levels and floor and ceiling effects were determined for each item. Reliability was analyzed using internal consistency and inter-observer reliability. The validity analysis was performed considering face validity, content and construct validity (through exploratory factor analysis), and criterion validity. RESULTS: Internal reliability and inter-observer reliability were higher than 0.80. The construct validity analysis suggested a three-factor model accounting for 37.1% of the variance. These three factors were named 'Nursing process', 'Communication skills', and 'Safe practice'. A significant correlation was found between the scores obtained and the students' grades in general, as well as with the grades obtained in subjects with clinical content. CONCLUSIONS: The assessment tool has proven to be sufficiently reliable and valid for the assessment of the clinical competence of nursing students using standardized patients. This tool has three main components: the nursing process, communication skills, and safety management.

Birthweight in pregnant women with protein S deficiency treated with low-molecular-weight heparin: a retrospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the risk of small-for-gestational-age (SGA) and intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) in pregnant women with protein S (PS) deficiency who received low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH). METHODS: Retrospective cohort study of pregnant women seen from January 2002 to December 2011. The study cohort comprised a total of 328 patients with PS deficiency, who received prophylactic enoxaparin during pregnancy. The control cohort included 11 884 pregnant women without significant past medical history. The risk of SGA and IUGR was calculated as odds ratio. Multivariate regression analysis over the entire reference population was performed determining the risk of both SGA and IUGR by adjusting for maternal age, first delivery, maternal underweight status, pre-eclampsia, other treated thrombophilias or history of recurrent abortion. RESULTS: The SGA rates in the PS deficiency and control cohorts were 10.7% and 8.5%, respectively (p > 0.05). There was no increased risk of SGA (unadjusted OR = 1.28, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.9-1.83; adjusted OR = 1.35, 95% CI 0.91-2.01). The IUGR rate was 2.7% in pregnant women with PS deficiency versus 4.1% in the control group (p > 0.05). Also, we did not find a significant risk of IUGR (OR = 0.66; 95% CI 0.34-1.28; adjusted OR = 0.843; 95% CI 0.42-1.70). CONCLUSIONS: In women with PS deficiency treated with LMWH, the risk of SGA and IUGR is similar to the one found in healthy pregnant women.