Soft Skill Components in Structured Nursing Clinical Skill Assessment on Assisted Procedures: A Clinical Audit

Abstract

Background: Assisted procedures in nursing involve scenarios where nurses are tasked with supporting physicians in the execution of medical procedures.  Nursing academics play a crucial role in cultivating appropriate attitudes towards nursing students. This study aimed to examine the soft skill elements in objectively structured clinical skill assessment on assisted procedures in the undergraduate nursing programme. Methods: A clinical audit was carried out on the retrospective structured clinical skill assessment exam questions by using the clinical skill assessment index V (CSAI-V) instrument. A total of 3 assisted procedures set of exam questions were collected from 7 higher learning institutions in Malaysia where they offered the undergraduate nursing programme. The data were analysed descriptively. Results: There were 3 assisted procedures out of 237 collected exam documents found and analysed in this study. The assisted procedures were grouped into 7 types to make them more specific. Although there are nine soft skill elements were identified in relation to assisted procedures, including communication, social and responsibility, critical thinking, problem-solving, teamwork, leadership, professional and ethical decision-making, numeracy, and interpersonal skills. However, none of the identified nine soft skill elements were found in the assessment rubrics. Conclusion: Thus, the current assisted procedure checklist needs improvement, especially the soft skills components. Besides, higher-learning nursing institutions should visit and revise the content of their checklist and the related materials if they are concerned about quality graduates.