Exploring Students' Perceptions of the Educational Value of Formative Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) in a Nutrition Program.

INTRODUCTION: Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) are valuable teaching tools in various disciplines including nutrition. OSCEs increase students' confidence, improve their communication and counseling skills, and can predict clinical strength and identify weaknesses prior to clinical placement. This study explored the impact of three OSCE experiences with nutrition students and evaluated the use of this type of formative assessment.

METHODS: Eleven female students with mean age 27.5±7.0 yrs enrolled in a medical nutrition therapy course completed three focus groups, ranging from 2 to 6 participants each, after the completion of three OSCE sessions.

DATA ANALYSIS: Two independent reviewers used interpretative phenomenological analysis to analyze verbatim transcriptions.

RESULTS: Five themes emerged: bridge to clinical practice, a comprehensive learning tool, realistic experience, student challenges, and curriculum considerations.

CONCLUSION: OSCE is an accepted tool by nutrition students and provides a memorable comprehensive learning experience. Students found OSCEs to be more realistic and authentic than hospital visits, and the interprofessional activities made the experience more holistic. The lack of preparation was the most challenging part of OSCE. The OSCE improved students' confidence and bridged the gap to clinical placement, and students recommended to continue using it as part of the curriculum.