Soft skill elements in structured nursing clinical skill assessment on transfusion-related procedure: a clinical audit

• Main Authors: Jamaludin, Thandar Soe @ Sumaiyah, Nurumal, Mohd. Said, Ahmad, Norfadzilah, Muhammad, Siti Aesah @ Naznin, Chong, Mei Chan
• Format: Conference or Workshop Item
• Language: English
• Published: 2023
• Subjects: RT48 Nursing assessment
• Online Access: http://irep.iium.edu.my/105715/1/105715_Soft%20skill%20elements%20in%20structured%20nursing%20clinical%20skill%20assessment%20on%20transfusion-related%20procedure.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/105715/

Background: The underlying principles that distinguish the nursing profession and excellent nursing care are known as soft skills. The transfusion-related procedure has been lifesaving therapy and is commonly practised in clinical settings. Certainly, current structured clinical skill assessments on transfusion-related procedures are emphasised students’ dexterity performance and frequently lack assessment of the soft skills used during the procedure. Objective: This study aimed to examine the soft skill elements in objectively structured clinical skill assessment on transfusion-related procedures in the undergraduate nursing programme. Method: A clinical audit was carried out on the retrospective structured clinical skill assessment exam questions by using the clinical skill assessment index II (CSAI-II) instrument. A total of 7 transfusionrelated procedures set of exam questions were assessed. The set of exam questions included clinical case scenarios, procedure checklist, examiner’s comments, and documentation charts of transfusionrelated procedures. Result: Among the audited 7 transfusion-related procedures, only the packed red blood cell (PRBC) procedure was found although six (6) categories of transfusion-related procedures were identified in this study. Regards to the soft skills elements, although there were 8 soft skills elements identified in this procedure: communication skills (CS), social skills and responsibilities (SSR), critical thinking skills (CTS), Problem-solving skills (PSS), teamwork skills (TS), professional and ethical decisionmaking skills (PEDMS), numeracy skills (NS), and interpersonal skill (IS), all the OSCE documents of PRBC procedure skill assessment were found to have CS 7 (100%) and TS 1 (14.3%). Implications/Conclusion: It was found that many things can be improved in the structured clinical skill assessment on transfusion-related procedures such as the type of transfusion procedures, the nature of the clinical scenario and the components of the soft skill elements in the checklist. Thus, it is crucial to have a well-structured clinical skill assessment exam question to produce holistic graduate nurses who equip with clinical skills and soft skills for the current healthcare delivery system.