Abstract
Undergraduate nursing students are required to perform a high-stakes clinical skills test that determines their ability to progress in the program and engage in clinical practice. Nursing students have perceived skills testing to be a stressful and high-pressure situation, leading to a decreased sense of confidence when performing the required skills (Monson et al., 2021). Thus, faculty should not rely solely on students passing a checkoff test as an indicator of safe skill performance, raising questions about the value and utility of such skill checkoffs (Aldridge, 2024). As nursing student enrollment numbers increase to keep pace with human healthcare resource demands, instructors have modified the skills testing approach by either decreasing the time students will have to demonstrate the skill or assigning only a small component of the skill to be demonstrated, worsening student stress and instructor fatigue during testing. These changes are rarely evidence-based and could result in an inconsistent assessment of students' abilities to perform clinical skills, compromising the test’s integrity and reliability.
This scoping review aims to offer practical recommendations for faculty, curriculum developers, and policymakers to aid in the establishment of a scalable, equitable, and high-quality assessment model that aligns with current nursing education expectations. Using the JBI methodology, 27 academic and relevant grey literature sources were retrieved from Medline, SCOPUS, CINAHL, PsycInfo, ProQuest Central, and ProQuest Dissertations and Theses databases that discussed or studied the assessment of core clinical skills among undergraduate nursing students within a laboratory context. This presentation highlights key findings of the review such as frequently used assessment methods, emerging trends, identified gaps in existing practices, and effective approaches for incorporating EDIA principles that ensure skill evaluation methods are both thorough and inclusive. Three primary themes emerged: standardized clinical exams, integration of digital or video-based assessments, and competency and performance-focused evaluations.
Notes
References:
Aldridge, M. D. (2024). One Simulated Skills Checkoff is Still Not Enough: Foley
Catheterization Skill Performance Among Undergraduate Nursing Students. Clinical Simulation in Nursing, 89, 101503–101503. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecns.2023.101503
Monson, N. L., Higbee, M., Brunger, C., Ensign, A., Gaul, R. A., & Taylor, N. (2021). Standardized skill pass-offs and nursing student confidence: A qualitative study. Teaching and Learning in Nursing, 16(3), 194–198. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.teln.2021.04.003
Sigma Membership
Lambda Pi at-Large
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Other
Research Approach
Qualitative Research
Keywords:
Competence, Teaching and Learning Strategies, Curriculum Development, Undergraduate Nursing Students, Clinical Competence, Nursing Students
Recommended Citation
Metersky, Kateryna; Lin, Tommy; Lam, Tina; Al-Hamad, Areej; and Romaniuk, Daria, "Exploring Best Practices in Evaluating Clinical Skills Amongst Nursing Students: A Scoping Review" (2026). International Nursing Research Congress (INRC). 25.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/inrc/2026/presentations_2026/25
Conference Name
37th International Nursing Research Congress
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Conference Year
2026
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2026-07-22
Funder
Toronto Metropolitan University Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching
Exploring Best Practices in Evaluating Clinical Skills Amongst Nursing Students: A Scoping Review
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Undergraduate nursing students are required to perform a high-stakes clinical skills test that determines their ability to progress in the program and engage in clinical practice. Nursing students have perceived skills testing to be a stressful and high-pressure situation, leading to a decreased sense of confidence when performing the required skills (Monson et al., 2021). Thus, faculty should not rely solely on students passing a checkoff test as an indicator of safe skill performance, raising questions about the value and utility of such skill checkoffs (Aldridge, 2024). As nursing student enrollment numbers increase to keep pace with human healthcare resource demands, instructors have modified the skills testing approach by either decreasing the time students will have to demonstrate the skill or assigning only a small component of the skill to be demonstrated, worsening student stress and instructor fatigue during testing. These changes are rarely evidence-based and could result in an inconsistent assessment of students' abilities to perform clinical skills, compromising the test’s integrity and reliability.
This scoping review aims to offer practical recommendations for faculty, curriculum developers, and policymakers to aid in the establishment of a scalable, equitable, and high-quality assessment model that aligns with current nursing education expectations. Using the JBI methodology, 27 academic and relevant grey literature sources were retrieved from Medline, SCOPUS, CINAHL, PsycInfo, ProQuest Central, and ProQuest Dissertations and Theses databases that discussed or studied the assessment of core clinical skills among undergraduate nursing students within a laboratory context. This presentation highlights key findings of the review such as frequently used assessment methods, emerging trends, identified gaps in existing practices, and effective approaches for incorporating EDIA principles that ensure skill evaluation methods are both thorough and inclusive. Three primary themes emerged: standardized clinical exams, integration of digital or video-based assessments, and competency and performance-focused evaluations.
Description
Focus: Academic
Status: Completed Work/Project
Presenter notes available in attached slide deck. To see the notes in Adobe Acrobat, go to Tools > Comment or look at your Layers Panel. If the notes were saved as comments or layers, you can toggle them visible.
Summary: The assessment of nursing students’ clinical skills within a laboratory setting is fundamental to ensuring safe, competent entry into professional practice. This presentation will focus on the analysis and synthesis of scholarly and grey literature that explores existing assessment models used within undergraduate nursing education. These findings will help inform the development of an innovative, evidence-based evaluation framework, enhancing the learning and teaching experience.