Abstract
Background: Within nursing pre-registration training academics are encouraged to use a wide range of assessments to meet academic and professional requirements. The OSCE is one such assessment innovation. OSCEs are a method of assessment that requires students to perform clinical assessments and answer questions within standardised conditions within an allotted time. The evidence unpinning this assessment has focused on its utility within pre-registration programmes but not on its impact on students with dyslexia. This is particularly important since within the United Kingdom 9-10% of applicants are registered as having dyslexia. The aim of this research is to explore perceptions and experiences of nursing students with dyslexia who have undertaken the OSCE as a method of assessment.
Methods: Two-phase mixed methods approach. 24 nursing students in year 3 of their course, were approached to participate in an online questionnaire, with 12 responding. Six students participated in object elicitation interviews, which were analysed using the ‘Framework Analysis’ method (Ritchie and Spence 1994).
Results: Three themes were identified; participants as unique individuals who experienced both difficulties and success in their learning; the impact of dyslexia on the individual and the OSCE as an assessment process.
Discussion: This is the first study to explore pre- registration nurses with dyslexia perceptions and experiences of OSCEs. The findings suggest that this is an assessment that does not disadvantage student nurses with dyslexia and was perceived positively by students. These findings contradict some studies around the experiences of the OSCE for students without dyslexia (Gibson and Leinster, 2011; Muldoon et al, 2014; Warhurst et al, 2014). For institutions, this could assist in achieving inclusive assessments and thus meet the widening participation agenda. This is important in light of the increasing numbers of persons being diagnosed with dyslexia accessing higher education.
Methods: Two-phase mixed methods approach. 24 nursing students in year 3 of their course, were approached to participate in an online questionnaire, with 12 responding. Six students participated in object elicitation interviews, which were analysed using the ‘Framework Analysis’ method (Ritchie and Spence 1994).
Results: Three themes were identified; participants as unique individuals who experienced both difficulties and success in their learning; the impact of dyslexia on the individual and the OSCE as an assessment process.
Discussion: This is the first study to explore pre- registration nurses with dyslexia perceptions and experiences of OSCEs. The findings suggest that this is an assessment that does not disadvantage student nurses with dyslexia and was perceived positively by students. These findings contradict some studies around the experiences of the OSCE for students without dyslexia (Gibson and Leinster, 2011; Muldoon et al, 2014; Warhurst et al, 2014). For institutions, this could assist in achieving inclusive assessments and thus meet the widening participation agenda. This is important in light of the increasing numbers of persons being diagnosed with dyslexia accessing higher education.
| Original language | English |
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| Title of host publication | NETNEP 2022 8th International Nurse Education Conference From education to impact: Transforming nursing and midwifery education 19-22 October 2022 | |
| Publication status | Published - 20 Oct 2022 |