Background: In view of the rising incidence and prevalence of mental disorders, and the stigma often attached to
persons with these pathologies, the question of specific, appropriate training for nursing students is one of great
importance. Objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) and clinical simulation may provide a useful
means of introducing the student to this environment.
Objectives: To examine the perceptions and satisfaction of nursing students after their participation in a targeted
mental health course in which the main specialist skills were acquired via clinical simulation.
Design: A quantitative, descriptive, transversal study was conducted, in which the participants in a mental health
course completed a questionnaire on their satisfaction with the experience.
Participants: The study population consisted of 141 nursing students enrolled in a mental health course and
currently in the third year of their Nursing Degree studies at the University of M ́alaga (Spain).
Results: The overall satisfaction expressed was more than 8 out of 10 (mean score = 8.43, SD = 1.25) and the
students’ satisfaction with specific aspects of the procedure exceeded 4 out of 5. The study results show that these
nursing students considered the methodology in question to be useful preparation for clinical practice (mean
score = 4.78, SD = 0.45), that they appreciated the participation of an expert (mean score = 4.72, SD = 0.60)
and that receiving the opinions of their peers about their performance was an enriching part of the experience
(mean score = 4.54, SD = 0.64).
Conclusions: The participants reported a high degree of satisfaction with the OSCE procedure and observed that
this method should be implemented more frequently. Debriefing is viewed as a vital contribution to the learning
process and to the participants’ satisfaction. However, further research is needed to study the impact of stress and
anxiety on the acquisition of skills via OSCEs
