Design of the Structure of a Comprehensive Examination for Bachelor of Nursing: A Delphi Study

Evaluation is a principle of educational processes Comprehensive examination is one of evaluation types that is recently considered in undergraduate nursing, but its structure has not been specified and universities are responsible for examining it. The aim of this study is to design a comprehensive and practical test for undergraduate nursing students.
This modified classic Delphi method was conducted in two stages in 2016. The participants were academics of the nursing and midwife school, educational supervisors, head nurses, nurses and students of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences. Thirty six participants were selected based on major purpose. The first part was designed in order to extract indexes and components of comprehensive examination by literature review and deep interviews after a comprehensive examination was codified in three rounds (face to face and online). The collected data were analyzed based on the percentage of agreement and IQR methods.
In this study, the framework of the comprehensive test was codified based on four sections including content, assessment methods, holding conditions of exam and acceptance criteria. Content was included adult and elderly nursing courses, pediatric nursing, maternal and child health, family health nursing, psychiatry and ethics. The OSCE and DOPS methods were determined as the most appropriate method for evaluating clinical skills. Passing mark was considered 14/20. In addition, other criteria for acceptance and rejection, appropriate examination centers, duration, execution time and implementation team.
Indices comprehensive test have been adjusted according to the perspectives of nursing and education experts, global trends and local conditions can be used for the nursing and midwife School in order to facilitate accessing desired goals in this evaluation.