Reported outcomes and characteristics of objective structured clinical examinations in advanced practice nursing education: a scoping review protocol.

Objective: The objective of this scoping review is to identify the outcomes reported from objective structured clinical examinations in advanced practice registered nurse education and to describe their characteristics.

Introduction: Graduate medical education has used objective structured clinical examinations to assess student health professionals since 1975. Nursing programs have adopted objective structured clinical examinations to assess evidence-based practice and clinical competency of advance practice nursing students, but little is known about the outcomes that are being reported.

Inclusion Criteria: This review will consider evidence on the outcomes and other characteristics of objective structured clinical examinations for students enrolled in graduate-level advanced practice nurse education programs (ie, nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, nurse midwives, and nurse anesthetists). All types of evidence will be considered, including quantitative and qualitative studies, systematic reviews, as well as text and opinion papers.

Methods: This review will be conducted in accordance with the JBI methodology for scoping reviews. A literature search will be conducted in PubMed, CINAHL, MEDLINE, Nursing and Allied Health, Scopus, and Google Scholar. Sources that are published in English or that could be translated into English will be considered for inclusion. No date limit will be applied. Study selection and data extraction will be conducted by three independent reviewers. Any disagreements will be resolved through discussion. The scoping review findings will be presented in a narrative style and reported using diagrams and extraction tables.