ATTITUDE, PERCEPTION AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN OSCE AMONG NURSING STUDENTS IN UNIVERSITY OF CALABAR, CALABAR, CROSS RIVER STATE.

ABSTRACT One of the ways in which to assess the mastery of skills in an undergraduate programme is by means of an objective examination as is embodied in OSCE. This study aimed at assessing the attitude, perception and academic performance in osce among nursing students in University of Calabar, Calabar, Cross River State. The study was guided by the following objectives: to assess the attitude towards Objective structured examination among nursing students in University of Calabar. To investigate nursing students’ perception towards OSCE among nursing students in University of Calabar and to determine the association between perception and academic performance of nursing students in OSCE.. A cross-sectional research design was used. A sample size of 95 participants was used. A well-structured questionnaire was used to get information from the participants. The stability of the instrument was evaluated using the test-retest method. The findings from the study revealed that there was high attitude as well as perception of OSCE among nursing students. Findings from test of hypothesis established that there is association between perception of OSCE and academic performance in OSCE. Conclusively it was recommended that, OSCE should be organized more frequently not just for examination purposes, to create understanding in students. Nurse educators, clinical instructors should include OSCE as part of a course requirement in the Foundations of Nursing to build understanding.