Academic Journal
Competency-based assessment in nursing education: An umbrella review of strengths and limitations.
| Τίτλος: | Competency-based assessment in nursing education: An umbrella review of strengths and limitations. |
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| Συγγραφείς: | Ibrahim RK; Nursing Department, Fatima College of Health Sciences, Al Dhafra Region, Madinat Zayed 23647, United Arab Emirates; Pediatric Nursing Department, Faculty of Nursing, Damanhur University, Damanhur City, Egypt. Electronic address: Rasha.Ibrahim@actvet.gov.ae., Darwish A; Psychology Department, Fatima College of Health Sciences, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Electronic address: amani.darwish@actvet.gov.ae., Bayliss-Pratt L; Nursing Department, Fatima College of Health Sciences, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Electronic address: Lisa.Pratt@actvet.gov.ae., El-Ashry AM; Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing Department, Faculty of Nursing, Alexandria University, Egypt. Electronic address: ayman.el-ashry@alexu.edu.eg., Fouda ME; Nursing Department, North Private College of Nursing, Arar, Saudi Arabia; Pediatric Nursing Department, Faculty of Nursing, Damanhur University, Damanhur City, Egypt. Electronic address: mahaebrahim@nec.edu.sa., Elmi AH; Department of Nursing and Midwifery, Dr. Sumait Hospital, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, SIMAD University, Mogadishu, Somalia. Electronic address: aarrkaa@simad.edu.so., Hendy A; Department of Maternal and Child Health Nursing, College of Nursing, Qassim University, Buraydah 52571, Saudi Arabia; Pediatric Nursing Department, Faculty of Nursing, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt. Electronic address: a.hendy@qu.edu.sa., Almagharbeh WT; Medical and Surgical Nursing Department, Faculty of Nursing, University of Tabuk, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. Electronic address: Walmagharbeh@ut.edu.sa. |
| Πηγή: | Nurse education today [Nurse Educ Today] 2026 Aug 31; Vol. 168, pp. 107378. Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 Aug 31. |
| Publication Model: | Ahead of Print |
| Τύπος έκδοσης: | Journal Article; Review |
| Γλώσσα: | English |
| Στοιχεία περιοδικού: | Publisher: Churchill Livingstone Country of Publication: Scotland NLM ID: 8511379 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1532-2793 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 02606917 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Nurse Educ Today Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Original Publication: [Edinburgh, Scotland] : Churchill Livingstone |
| Περίληψη: | Introduction: Competency-based assessment (CBA) is central to competency-based education (CBE) in nursing, yet the evidence about its effectiveness is fragmented across methods, settings, and outcomes. Aim: To synthesize the strengths and limitations of CBA approaches in nursing education and to map them onto established educational frameworks. Methods: An umbrella review of reviews was conducted, including systematic, scoping, integrative, and theoretical reviews of CBA in pre-registration and early-career nursing. Searches of PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science, and ERIC (from inception to November 2025) were conducted in accordance with Joanna Briggs Institute and PRISMA guidance, with eligibility defined using the Population, Concept, and Context (PCC) framework, and data were integrated through narrative synthesis. Results: Twenty reviews, encompassing more than 700 primary studies, identified six CBA domains: simulation-based and Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) assessments, workplace-based assessments (WBAs), technology-enhanced assessments, learning-based and reflective assessments, research competency assessments, and program-level CBE evaluations. Across domains, CBAs predominantly targeted higher-order cognitive and performance outcomes aligned with the upper levels of Bloom's taxonomy and Miller's pyramid. Simulations and OSCEs showed strong validity and acceptability but were resource-intensive and often anxiety-provoking. Workplace-based tools captured authentic performance but were constrained by assessor variability and limited psychometric properties. Technology-enhanced and reflective approaches fostered engagement and self-regulation yet frequently relied on heterogeneous, weakly validated measures. Evidence for research competencies and program-level CBE remained limited and methodologically modest. Conclusion: CBAs in nursing provide rich information on complex competencies but are unevenly developed. Integrated, theory-informed, and programmatic assessment systems are required to optimise their contribution to practice-ready graduates. (Copyright © 2026 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.) |
| Competing Interests: | Declaration of competing interest The authors have nothing to declare. |
| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: Clinical competence; Competency-based assessment; Educational measurement; Nursing education; Students, nursing |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20260904 Latest Revision: 20260904 |
| Update Code: | 20260905 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.nedt.2026.107378 |
| PMID: | 42697017 |
| Βάση Δεδομένων: | MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 1532-2793 |
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| DOI: | 10.1016/j.nedt.2026.107378 |