Formative assessment boosts nursing students' clinical skills and confidence

TL;DR

A randomized controlled trial tested formative assessment in nursing students' clinical education on knowledge, skills, and self-efficacy.
Experimental group showed higher knowledge scores and a 16.54-point higher average in skill scores than controls.
Formative assessment boosted students' basic nursing skills and confidence in clinical settings.

The story at a glance

Researchers Rukiye Kokkiz, Demet Inangil, and Ilayda Turkoglu ran a pre-test post-test randomized controlled trial to see if formative assessment during clinical training improves nursing students' knowledge, skills, and self-efficacy. The experimental group got ongoing feedback and checks, while the control group did not. This study came out now to address gaps in structured evaluations during real patient care, unlike lab-based OSCE exams.[[1]](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S147159532400249X)[[2]](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39213838)

Key points

Study design: Pre-test self-efficacy forms for both groups; experimental group received formative assessment (feedback and checklists) throughout the semester; post-tests included skills test, repeated self-efficacy form, and final knowledge test for all.
Knowledge results: Experimental group's average score beat the control group's, with statistical significance.
Skills results: 16.54-point difference in average scores favoring experimental group; big gains in breathing-cough exercise, basic blood glucose measurement, subcutaneous injection, and blood collection.
Self-efficacy: Post-tests showed gains in the experimental group for basic nursing skills.
Background need: Clinical skills evaluations lack structured checklists, unlike OSCE skill checklists.

Details and context

Formative assessment gives feedback to spot weaknesses and guide improvement, key in nursing education where hands-on patient care matters. The trial focused on fundamentals like injections and blood draws, common early skills. No full sample size or p-values visible in abstract, but differences were statistically significant.[[1]](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S147159532400249X)

Limitations likely include single-site design and focus on basics; full text would clarify. This builds on prior work stressing feedback in higher education but adds clinical proof.[[1]](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S147159532400249X)

Key quotes

None available from visible abstract or snippets.

Why it matters

Structured feedback in clinical training can raise nursing education quality and prepare safer practitioners. Nursing programs and instructors can adopt checklists for better student outcomes in real-world skills. Watch if larger trials confirm gains across more skills or settings.[[1]](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S147159532400249X)