[The use of OSCE to evaluate the competency of discharge nurses]

Clear directions and explanations from nurses related to health behaviors and discharge procedures have been shown to effectively reduce the risk of patient readmission. Nurses thus need to develop good communication skills in order to ensure that their communications help patients become better-informed and less anxious about discharge procedures.

This research evaluates the communication skills of nurses following two different education interventions.

Experimental design principles for education interventions were followed in this research. Medical nurses certified at the N to N2 level in a municipal hospital in Taipei City were enrolled as participants (N=78) and divided into an experimental group and control group using stratified purposive randomization. The experimental group received clinical scenario-based simulation education for communication. The control group received standard class-based education for communication. Both groups received a pre-test evaluation and an OSCE post-test evaluation. Results were analyzed using SPSS 17.0 software.

Independent t-test results revealed significant increases in communication skills (t=3.406, p<.05) in both groups, with the increase in the experimental group (M=5.00, SD=0.82) significantly greater than the increase in the control group (M=4.11, SD=1.41). However, the mean scores from the post-test standardized patient survey found no significant differences between the two groups in terms of communication skills.

The results indicate that the clinical scenario-based simulation education intervention is more effective than traditional class-based education in enhancing the communication skills of nurses.