Enhancing Practical Competence in Physical Assessment Through Digital Video Feedback

September 12, 2026 updated by: Chih Jung Wu, China Medical University Hospital

Enhancing Practical Competence in Physical Assessment Through Digital Video Feedback: A Teaching Practice in the Physical Examination and Assessment Course

This cluster randomized controlled trial aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a digital video feedback strategy in improving physical assessment skills, learning motivation, self-regulated learning, and anxiety among undergraduate nursing students. Approximately 80 second-year nursing students enrolled in a physical examination and assessment course will be assigned to either a digital video feedback intervention group or a traditional teaching control group using cluster randomization.

The intervention will be implemented in four physical assessment units, including head and neck/lymphatic assessment, musculoskeletal assessment, and two neurological assessment units. Students in the intervention group will record their physical assessment performance using a digital video system and receive structured feedback from peers and instructors. Outcomes will be assessed at baseline, mid-course, and at the end of the course.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Physical examination and assessment are fundamental competencies in nursing education and clinical practice. However, undergraduate nursing students may experience difficulties in mastering complex physical assessment procedures because of limited practice time, insufficient individualized feedback, and limited clinical experience.

Based on Bandura's Social Learning Theory, this study incorporates a digital video feedback strategy into an undergraduate physical examination and assessment course. The intervention emphasizes observation, practice, feedback, reflection, and behavioral modification.

Students assigned to the intervention group will record their performance of selected physical assessment procedures using the SimCapture digital platform. Recorded performances will be reviewed by peers and instructors, who will provide structured feedback based on standardized physical assessment evaluation criteria. Students will review the feedback, modify their performance, and subsequently repeat the recording and feedback process.

Four course units will be included in the intervention: head and neck/lymphatic assessment, musculoskeletal assessment, neurological assessment I, and neurological assessment II. The control group will initially receive conventional classroom instruction and independent practice. For educational equity, students in the control group will subsequently receive the digital video feedback activity after the planned comparison assessment.

Quantitative outcomes include physical assessment skill performance, learning strategies and motivation, learning motivation, and anxiety. Students' experiences with the digital video feedback strategy will also be explored using course evaluation and qualitative feedback.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
80

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Second-year undergraduate nursing students enrolled in the Physical Examination and Assessment Practicum course at the participating university.

Students who agree to participate in the study and provide informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Students who are repeating the Physical Examination and Assessment Practicum course.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Other
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Active Comparator: Traditional Teaching Control Group
Participants will receive traditional physical assessment instruction according to the standard course curriculum, including classroom instruction, instructor demonstration, and hands-on skills practice. Participants will also record and upload videos of their physical assessment skill performance as part of the course requirements. However, they will not participate in the structured video review and feedback activities provided to the Digital Video Feedback Group.
Other: Traditional Physical Assessment Teaching
Participants will receive traditional physical assessment instruction according to the standard course curriculum, including classroom instruction, instructor demonstration, and hands-on skills practice. Participants will also record and upload videos of their physical assessment skill performance as part of the course requirements. However, they will not participate in the structured video review and feedback activities provided to the Digital Video Feedback Group.
Experimental: Digital Video Feedback Group
Participants will receive the standard physical assessment course and digital video feedback. Students will record their physical assessment skill performance, review the recorded videos, and receive structured feedback to support reflection and skill improvement.
Other: Digital Video Feedback Group
The digital video feedback intervention uses the SimCapture system to record students' physical assessment performance. Students practice selected physical assessment skills, including head and neck/lymphatic, musculoskeletal, and neurological assessments. Their recorded performances are reviewed by peers and instructors, who provide structured feedback based on standardized physical assessment evaluation criteria. Students review the feedback, modify their assessment techniques, and subsequently repeat the recording and feedback process.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Physical Assessment Skill Performance
Time Frame: Baseline (Week 1), Week 9, and Week 18
Physical assessment skill performance will be evaluated using the Physical Assessment Skills Performance Checklist. The checklist assesses students' ability to correctly perform essential physical assessment procedures. The total score ranges from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating better physical assessment skill performance.
Baseline (Week 1), Week 9, and Week 18

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire Score
Time Frame: Baseline (Week 1), Week 9, and Week 18
Learning strategies and motivational beliefs will be assessed using an adapted version of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ). The instrument uses a 7-point Likert scale and assesses motivational beliefs and self-regulated learning strategies, including self-efficacy, intrinsic value, cognitive strategy use, and self-regulation. The total score ranges from 44 to 302. Higher scores indicate greater levels of learning motivation and self-regulated learning strategies.
Baseline (Week 1), Week 9, and Week 18
ARCS-Based Learning Motivation Score
Time Frame: Baseline (Week 1), Week 9, and Week 18
Learning motivation will be assessed using an Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction (ARCS)-based motivation scale assessing four domains: attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction. The scale consists of 16 items, with each item rated from 1 to 5. The total score ranges from 16 to 90, with higher scores indicating greater learning motivation.
Baseline (Week 1), Week 9, and Week 18
Anxiety
Time Frame: Baseline (Week 1), Week 9, and Week 18
Anxiety will be assessed using the Visual Analogue Scale for Anxiety (VAS-A), ranging from 0 (not anxious at all) to 10 (extremely anxious), with higher scores indicating greater anxiety.
Baseline (Week 1), Week 9, and Week 18

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
China Medical University Hospital

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
October 28, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
February 28, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
February 28, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
September 8, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
September 12, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
September 17, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
September 17, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
September 12, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
September 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • CRREC-115-158
  • PMN1151150 (Other Grant/Funding Number: Ministry of Education Republic of China (Taiwan))

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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