The Continuity of Practice Assessment Record.
This new document was initially introduced by the N.M.C. (2006) as the “Student Passport” but from September intake of the MNSci and October intake of BSc/Diploma Student Nurses will use this to record their progress throughout their Nurse Training Programme.
The N.M.C. (2006, p.28) state that, “students are expected to keep a record of their learning experiences, identifying evidence to support achievement of NMC outcomes and competencies and where further support and supervision is required. This record should be made available to their named mentor at the beginning of a new experience to enable discussion of strengths and areas for improvement”.
The new document will include:
Achievement of Outcomes for Entry to Branch: Common Foundation Programme, and
Achievement of Standards of Proficiency for Entry to the NMC Professional Register: (Specified) Branch Years Two and Three.
Please note that each Student entering nurse training from September 2007 will now be completing:
A) Assessment of Practice Record (existing), as well as the
B) Continuity of Practice Assessment Record, and the evidence of their achievements documented in the
C) Student Portfolio of Evidence (existing)
Continuity of Practice Assessment (NMC 2006) Process – A guide for Mentors.
A) Placements (First Week):
- Student presents Record to mentor.
- Previous placement reviewed and action plan noted.
- Orientation, preliminary interview and action plan completed in Assessment of Practice Record.
B) Intermediate Interview (Half way):
- Review action plan and learning needs.
- Identify new learning plan.
- Involve academic link / Personal Tutor if appropriate or concerns regarding student’s achievement / professional behaviour.
- Evidence of achieving outcomes / standards of proficiency signed up to date.
C) Final Interview (during last week):
- Student to present all forms of evidence to mentor.
- Student will complete Assessment of Practice Record identifying type and location of where the evidence is in their Student Portfolio.
- Mentor will review evidence and accept accountability in assessing student as competent or not in those outcomes / standards of proficiency at the appropriate practice level.
- The Continuity of Practice Assessment Record will be completed.
- If not competent and therefore failing, Mentor to involve academic link / Personal Tutor if not already involved.
More information will be given at Mentor Training / Updates / Newsletter etc.
Competence and outcomes for a mentor:
There are eight domains that havenow replaced the eight Mandatory Standards of 2004. The intention is to examine the lasttwo of these domains in this mentorship bulletin. All the eight domains have now been examined in this and previous editions, and hopefully these will be a useful resource for mentors.
Domain 7: Evidence-based practice.
Outcomes:
-Identify and apply research and evidence-based practice to their area of practice.
-Contribute to strategies to increase or review the evidence-base used to support practice.
-Support students in applying an evidence base to their own practice.
Consider the following:
-Are there any areas of your practice that you feel need to change, in order to enhance and improve practice based learning?
-Is there any research or evidence-based findings that you have identified to support your potential area of change or improvement?
-What strategy do you use in order to review and discuss the effectiveness of your nursing care delivery?
-How do you encourage students to develop an appreciation of evidence-based care delivery?
-Do you have specific identified research based supporting literature folders for students to access and utilise? Is this research general or nursing care topic specific?
-What support does your Practice Learning Team Representative offer in maintaining a research based culture in the practice setting?
Domain 8: Leadership.
Outcomes:
-Plan a series of learning experiences that will meet students defined learning needs.
-Be an advocate for students to support them accessing learning opportunities that meet their individual needs – involving a range of other professionals, clients and carers.
-Prioritise work to accommodate support of students within practice roles.
-Provide feedback about the effectiveness of learning and assessment in practice.
Consider the following:
-Have you an identified training programme for students to follow that will map their week by week experience whilst working in your practice area?
-Have you explained to the student the importance of gaining a broader perspective of healthcare and the need to value the importance of an interprofessional approach?
-Supporting students is an important integral part of mentorship. How well do you organise your time management to ensure that students spend at least 40% of their time with a mentor?
-Providing students with feedback is an important part of assessment. Do you ensure that you meet your designated student on a weekly basis in order to discuss their progress, examine and sign to verify the evidence in the developing Student Portfolio, and highlight areas of further development?
-The effectiveness of practice based experience for students is reliant on the success of the partnership between them and their mentor. What would your student’s feedback say about your style of mentorship?