Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of the O-AMAS teaching model applied in the curriculum of Health Assessment. Methods Ninety nursing students of two classes enrolled in 2019 were treated as a control group and received traditional teaching method in the curriculum of Health Assessment, while their counterparts enrolled in 2020 (n=90) served as an intervention group and received alternative teaching based on the O-AMAS teaching model that included five elements: teaching objective, activation, multi-learning, assessment and summary. At the end of the semester, the final examination results, teachers′ evaluation of the students, students′ evaluation of the teaching and their self-directed learning ability were compared between the two groups. Results The intervention group had higher scores in both theoretical and practical examinations, higher students′ evaluation of the teaching and their self-directed learning ability, as well as higher teachers′ evaluation of the students compared with the control group (P＜0.01 for all). Conclusion The application of O-AMAS teaching model in the curriculum of Health Assessment can enhance teaching effect, improve evaluation of teachers and students, and cultivate self-directed learning ability of nursing students.