Implementing peer learning to prepare students for OSCEs.

First-year nursing students undertaking a first-year clinical skills module were given an opportunity to take part in a voluntary peer learning scheme, where they would learn from more senior students. It was envisaged this would help the students prepare for the module's summative assessment-an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE), which students can find stressful. The first-year students found peer learning helped them improve clinical skills, reduced anxiety and increased their self-confidence, and they appreciated the non-threatening learning environment and constructive feedback.

The development and evaluation of a computer-based resource to assist pre-registration nursing students with their preparation for objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs).

This paper presents a narrative discussion of an innovative, computer-based resource developed, implemented and evaluated by a small project team at a school of nursing and midwifery in London. The interactive resource was designed to assist first and second year pre-registration nursing students with both their clinical skills revision and formative preparation for Objective Structured Clinical Examinations and involved a small range of clinical skills. These included: skin assessment; hand hygiene; reading a drug prescription chart, weighing a baby and assessment of an intravenous cannulae site.

Developing and examining an Objective Structured Clinical Examination.

Objective Structured Clinical Examinations are commonly used within pre-registration and post-qualification nurse education to test clinical competence. Station development and refinement of the pass mark is essential to the examination process. In this paper the process of blue-printing and standardisation are described as one method of agreeing examination content and subsequent pass mark.