EVALUATING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF STUDENT-CREATED OSCE CASES IN ENHANCING CLINICAL JUDGMENT AND DECISION-MAKING AMONG FINAL-YEAR NURSING STUDENTS

Abstract

Background: Clinical judgment and decision-making are essential competencies in nursing education, directly influencing patient safety and care quality. Traditional teaching methods often fall short in equipping students with these skills. Structured educational interventions have been increasingly used to address this gap, with promising outcomes. Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a structured educational intervention in improving clinical judgment and decision-making among final-year nursing students. Methods: A quasi-experimental design with pre- and post-test evaluation was conducted among 60 nursing students, equally divided into intervention and control groups (n = 30 each). The intervention group received simulation-based training and guided feedback sessions, while the control group followed standard teaching methods. The Lasater Clinical Judgment Rubric (LCJR) and Clinical Decision-Making in Nursing Scale (CDMNS) were used to assess outcomes. Paired and independent t-tests were employed for statistical analysis. Results: Post-test results revealed significantly higher LCJR and CDMNS scores in the intervention group compared to the control group. The intervention group’s LCJR scores improved from 21.3 ± 2.7 to 28.5 ± 3.0 (t = 7.84, p = 0.0001), while CDMNS scores increased from 114.8 ± 8.9 to 134.2 ± 9.3 (t = 8.91, p = 0.0000). Between-group comparisons also showed statistically significant differences in post-test scores for both tools (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The study confirms that structured educational interventions significantly enhance clinical judgment and decision-making among nursing students. Integrating such methods into nursing education is strongly recommended to improve student competence and readiness for clinical practice