Mentor Update Information - Keele University

School of Nursing and Midwifery

Mentor Update Information

Welcome to all nursing and midwifery mentors and sign-off mentors.  This website page offers information and guidance on all aspects of the role of the mentor in the education of our students.  Support contact details can be found at the end of this website page should you require any further information or guidance.

Nursing Mentor Update

Nursing mentors are now required to attend an update meeting in person every year to ensure they are familiar with changes and developments to the nursing programmes. Mentors' meetings are held at frequent intervals in many different venues. You can choose a scheduled date and contact the organisers to book your place. Please click here for Nursing Mentor & Sign Off Mentor Update Sessions 2012/2013 and pick a convenient date.

Nursing Sign-Off Mentor Workshop & Update

Nurses who meet the criteria to become a sign-off mentor can attend one of the scheduled workshops. Nursing Sign-off Mentor Workshops 2012/2013. Following attendance at a sign-off mentor workshop you are then required to attend a nursing mentor and sign-off mentor update annually and should not be updating on-line or attending any other meetings. Places on these workshops must be booked by contacting your Trust Clinical Placement Facilitator; to book a place on an update please contact the organiser.

Triennial Review for Mentors within Trust & Independent Sector Placement Providers

As part of the NMC 2008 Standards, triennial reviews for all mentors is every 3 years, to ensure mentors identified on the live mentor register have updated and meet the requirements to mentor pre-registration students.

 To be maintained on the local mentor register the individual must have evidence of having:

  • Mentored at least two students, with due regard within the three year period.
  • Participated in annual updating – to include an opportunity to meet and explore assessment and supervision issues with other mentors.
  • Explore as a group activity the validity and reliability of judgements made when assessing practice in challenging circumstances
  • Mapped on-going development in their role against the current NMC mentor standards
  • Been deemed to have met all requirements needed to be maintained on the local register as a mentor or sign-off mentor.

Midwifery Sign-Off Mentor Update

All midwives are required to be sign-off mentors and therefore must attend a midwifery sign-off mentor update annually and should not be updating on-line or attending any other meetings. Midwifery Sign-off Mentor Workshops 2012. Places on these workshops and updates must be booked by contacting Lynsey Rees on 01782 679559 or Becki Lewis on 01782 679532.

Introduction

All mentors of nursing and midwifery students in clinical practice must be registered on the Mentors' Register which is maintained by your Trust, supporting Clinical Placement Facilitator and the School of Nursing & Midwifery. Your personal details are captured from your completed Mentors' Register Application Form. If you change your name or place of work you must notify the Placement Office or Placement Quality Lead by email. You will receive an email to confirm the changes.

Pre-registration courses

Diploma and degree nursing courses share a Foundation Year and some aspects of the two year Field programmes. All students must successfully complete both theoretical and practical assessments which meet the Nursing & Midwifery Council (NMC) outcomes for entry to the Branch programme and competencies for entry to the NMC Register. Students spend 50% of their time in clinical practice. Mentors have a vital role in ensuring that students meet the required standard.

Pre-Registration Course Information

Information about the structure, content and assessment of courses can be found in the Clinical Placement Student Resource Folder provided for all placements.

Clinical Placement Student Resource Folder

It has 10 sections:

  1. Placement Induction Package
  2. Nursing Programme Information
  3. Assessment of Practice Documents
  4. Ongoing Achievement Record
  5. Student Charter
  6. Placement Information Review & Audit (PIRA)
  7. Practice Placement Quality Pack and Placement Quality Standards
  8. Student Placement Electronic Evaluation Form
  9. Policy Documents
  10. Additional Information Specific to Placement Area

Clinical Staff/Mentors are responsible for inserting the placement induction package into section 1, most recent PIRA into section 6, placement evaluation summary feedback in section 8 and any additional information in section 10. During the academic year any updated information will be sent to the placement manager to raise the awareness of the mentoring team and then placed in the specific section of the folder. During the annual PIRA the Link Lecturer and Placement Manager will review the folder and the learning resources available to ensure it has the relevant documentation.  If you require any advice or additional information, please contact your Link Lecturer, Clinical Placement Facilitator or Placement Quality Lead Abbie Fordham Barnes.

Clinical Practice Assessment

Assessment of a student’s performance in clinical practice is a fundamental component of their 3 year course and comprises 50% of the total assessment for each module being studied. Your contribution to the assessment of a student’s performance is fundamental to your role in maintaining professional standards of nursing practice.

The process for documenting the assessment of students’ clinical practice comprises three stages: initial interview, mid-point interview and final interview.

Initial interview: at the beginning of the placement, the student will meet their Mentor to discuss their learning needs, the learning opportunities available on the placement, the learning outcomes to be achieved during the placement and any issues that the student or mentor wish to raise at this point.  At this meeting, a provisional date for the student’s mid-point will be identified. The Mentor should document the details of this initial interview. The student will be given a planned introduction to the placement including the layout of the area, introduction to staff, the location of Clinical Placement Student Resource Folder and policies, equipment, procedures & guidelines, emergency procedures, shift patterns, off-duty and break times and the procedure for reporting sick. The Trust have an induction check list to complete.

Mid-point interview: Members of the clinical nursing team (i.e. Mentors and supervisors) will work with the student during the placement in order to supervise their practice, provide guidance and teaching to make an assessment of whether they are demonstrating the required standard to achieve the practice learning outcomes. A mid-point interview must be conducted to review the student’s progress and to highlight any elements of good practice and/or any areas for development that will be required in order for them to achieve the learning outcomes. If necessary, a development plan will be devised in consultation with their link lecturer. It is essential that students are given accurate feedback on their performance especially when areas for further development have been identified by clinical colleagues. At the mid-point interview, a provisional date for the student’s final interview will be identified (taking account of the Mentor’s off duty/holiday requirements).

Final interview: At the final interview, the Mentor will review the student’s progress and discuss the evidence they have provided to support their achievement of the learning outcomes. Any aspects of practice identified previously as needing development will be discussed. At the end of this process, the Mentor is required to indicate whether the student has demonstrated the knowledge, skills and attitudes to achieve the practice learning outcomes. This must be confirmed by the Mentor’s name (in block capitals) and signature in the relevant box (along with a date of assessment) on each outcome page. Some students may have to submit their Practice Assessment Document prior to their final weeks on clinical placement.

To assist Mentor’s in making a judgement on a student’s achievement, performance criteria are provided for each learning outcome. These give an indication of the knowledge, skills and attitudes that are expected of a student in achieving that particular outcome.

Mentors need to be familiar with all assessment of practice documentation. Copies are available in Clinical Placement Student Resource Folder. Any questions please contact your Link Lecturer, Clinical Placement Facilitator or Placement Quality Lead.

'Ongoing Achievement Record’ (Passport)

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) requires students to maintain an ongoing achievement record. This will enable mentors for each placement to see how a student is progressing, and target their support in the most effective way for that student. The majority of student assessment should be through direct observation in practice. The student’s strengths will be identified and any key achievements within a specific placement can be acknowledged. Areas of practice that the student has found difficult, or wasn’t exposed to can be highlighted so that this can be supported in the next placement. At the end of the programme the sign off mentor will be required to assess the student over a period of time and make a judgement about their fitness to practice as a registered nurse. The final assessment draws on evidence of assessment over a sustained period of time.

Students' Responsibility

  1. To ensure that evidence for assessment is made available to the Mentor.
  2. Ensure the ongoing achievement record (OAR) is kept safe at all times.
  3. Complete students sections in timely manner.
  4. Have available on first day of each placement to show new Mentor.
  5. Meet with personal tutor at least once after each placement to discuss progress and show OAR.

Mentors' Responsibility

  1. Ensure comments/feedback is supported by appropriate evidence.
  2. Commentary should be written in a constructive non-discriminatory way to aid the student’s on going development.
  3. Areas of strength and those for development must be outlined in order for the next Mentor to plan appropriate support/experiences.
  4. Completion of the student’s development plan must be done.

Sign Off Mentors' Responsibility

Mentors are required to meet specific criteria in order to be able to sign-off a student’s practice proficiency at the end of an NMC approved programme.
A strategy is being developed and will be published soon to implement the NMC Standards for Learning and Assessment in Practice in partnership between Keele University and local placement providers in achieving the Standards.

Sign-off Mentor Information

Sign-off Mentor Criteria

  • The NMC set the standards of education, training and conduct that nurses and midwives need to deliver high quality healthcare consistently throughout their careers.
  • NMC Standards to support learning and assessment in practice were introduced in 2006 and became mandatory from September 2007. The second edition was produced in 2008.
  • These require that decisions about whether a student has achieved the required standards of proficiency for safe and effective practice for entry to the register must be made by a sign-off mentor. Sign-off mentors are also a requirement for post registration specialist practice programmes, and specialist community public health nursing programmes, and supervisor of midwives programmes.
  • From September 2007 nurses or midwives designated to sign off proficiency must meet the criteria listed at section 2.1.3 of the standards.
  • All midwifery mentors must meet the additional criteria to be a sign-off mentor.

Achieving sign-off mentor criteria

The requirement for a prospective sign-off mentor to be supervised in signing off students on at least three occasions before they can be designated a sign-off mentor.

  • First and second such supervisions may now be effected using a range of methods. These include activities which would test the skills required to sign off students safely, including: simulation, role play, objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) and interactive use of electronic resources.
  • Final supervision for signing off proficiency must be with an actual student undertaking an NMC approved programme.

Sign Off Mentor Information Pack

pdf File
328K
This information pack has been specifically designed for mentors seeking to gain “sign-off” status.

Evidence for Achieving Sign Off Mentor Criteria: On-line Observation 2

pdf File
335K
Observation Two for recording your evidence of achieving sign off mentor criteria.

Essential Clinical Skills Schedule

During the their pre-registration programme students are allocated a number of different clinical placement areas that can provide a range of practice experiences and expose students to a range of learning opportunities aimed at developing their essential clinical nursing skills. The Essential Clinical Skills schedule focuses on those essential skills that can be applied across all four branches of pre-registration programmes. Students have a responsibility to discuss Trust/organisational policies and the appropriate Clinical Guidelines for their placement with their mentor as part of their introduction to learning new clinical skills. In signing the appropriate level of skills development in the schedule, the mentor is confirming that the performance criteria have been met.

Sickness and Absence Reporting

If any of the students do not attend, for any reason, please report their non-attendance and the date they return to duty on the sickness and absence hotline - 01782 679677.

All placement areas should have a laminated copy of the process for reporting Sickness and Absence on their placement notice-board and in the Clinical Placement Student Resource Folder. Please contact your Link Lecturer or Placement Office if you do not have a copy.

Student Placement Charter

A Student Placement Charter provides students with guidance about their rights and responsibilities in relation to clinical practice.

Supernumerary Status

Supernumerary Adverse Incident Report Form and Guidelines have been developed. Students are advised to speak to their Mentor first, then Placement Manager, Link Lecturer or Personal Tutor if they still have concerns about supernumerary status. The students may proceed to complete the form and return to the Placement Quality Lead along with supporting evidence. This is then discussed with the Professional Head Nurse for the respective Trust and an action plan implemented. Students are informed of the outcome of this action plan.

Guidelines for Mentors & Students

The following guidelines are intended to clarify the position on students’ supernumerary status during clinical placements. The Link Lecturer or your Personal Tutor will be able to answer any questions you may have on supernumerary status.

“All students undertaking pre-registration nursing and midwifery programmes have supernumerary status while on practice placements. That means that they are additional to the workforce requirement and staffing figures” (RCN 2007)
 
“Supernumerary status means that the student shall not, as part of their programme of preparation, be employed by any person or body under a contract to provide nursing/midwifery care.” NMC (2004a)

“The student is present in the placement setting as a learner and not as a member of staff. However, they must make an active contribution to the work of the practice area to enable them to learn how to care for patients” (RCN 2007)

The NMC’s Code of Professional Conduct (NMC 2004b) states that nurses and midwives on the NMC professional register: “…have a duty to facilitate students of nursing and midwifery and others to develop their competence.” Student’s practice experience is widely acknowledged as being one of the most important parts of the educational preparation to become health care professionals. In its report Making a Difference the Department of Health (1999) emphasizes that provision of practice placements is a vital part of the education process. Every practitioner shares responsibility to support and teach the next generation of nurses and midwives.

Students are supernumerary throughout their course. This means that the experience they gain during practice placements should be determined by their educational needs. This does not mean that students are purely observers. To develop the required skills and achieve the identified learning outcomes, students must participate in clinical activities under direct or indirect supervision of a Mentor or supervisor. Students should discuss the best ways of achieving their learning outcomes, and ensure that their practice assessment, student passport and skills documentation are available for reference.

The type of nursing activities that students participate in will vary from placement to placement. Students should be given the opportunity to participate in as many activities as possible. This may mean that they follow patients when they attend investigations, surgery or have consultations with other health care professionals. It may also mean that students are given opportunities to participate in a variety of situations that are appropriate to meet their learning needs (for example: participating during a cardiac arrest, assisting colleagues when performing clinical procedures). It would never be acceptable for a student to put a patient’s safety or well-being at risk by refusing to provide immediate care that was within their capabilities.

Students are expected to experience a variety of shift patterns including weekends and nights. The organisation of shift patterns is at the discretion of the placement manager and should ensure adequate opportunities for learning and effective supervision and ideally to work as many shifts as possible with their named Mentor. Supernumerary status does not imply the right for students to change allocated duty at will, or always to have off-duty requests honoured. Supernumerary status does include the student’s right to experience effective learning opportunities in placement and to have the status as students respected. This includes not using students to “fill gaps” in the placement’s establishment of staff.

The NMC Code (April 2008) http://www.nmc-uk.org/Publications/Standards/The-code/Introduction/

Delegate effectively

• You must establish that anyone you delegate to is able to carry out your instructions

• You must confirm that the outcome of any delegated task meets required standards

• You must make sure that everyone you are responsible for is supervised and supported

• You must facilitate students and others to develop their competence

 

Essential Guidance

Some points to consider:
Try to plan for each student as soon as the placement area receives their student allocation. Identify the named mentors and supervisors. Ensure that students are oriented to the clinical area and other staff on their first shift. If you are unable to do this yourself, you should arrange for a colleague to take charge for you. At the first meeting, it is good practice to review the student’s documentation, ensuring that you know the stage of training and previous clinical experience of the individual student so that you can discuss with them their learning needs. The initial meeting should be recorded in the practice assessment documentation and a date scheduled for the mid-point review. Informal feedback and guidance should be given regularly.

You should be familiar with the student’s course documentation which you are required to complete and have a good understanding of the performance criteria to meet the required standard.

The student has a responsibility to consider each learning outcome and provide evidence of achievement. Your help and guidance “to get them started” is much appreciated by students. Students should also “self-assess” prior to discussion with their mentor as this helps to develop their self-reflection. The final score or pass/fail awarded by the mentor should reflect the student’s ability to meet the learning outcomes for that specific module. Each module is scored or pass/fail independently. The final comments made in the students report should support the scores or pass/fail awarded. A common error is scoring the student low because he/she is at an early stage of the course and is deemed to junior to gain a higher score. Conversely, if you score to high the student may not take seriously advice about improving practical skills. Also remember that the final report and scores awarded should reflect the views of other members of staff (including the multi-professional team) who have worked with the student during the placement period.

Where there is any concern about a specific student's progress, do not hesitate to contact your Link Lecturer to discuss the situation. If the Link Lecturer is unavailable for any reason, contact the student's personal tutor or any other member of the School's staff who will put you in touch with an appropriate member of staff. Early discussion with a student about areas of concern regarding progress in clinical practice can prevent problems at a later stage of the course. A few students reach their final module and are found to be unsatisfactory in practice having achieved a pass mark in previous modules. This is very disturbing for both student and puts a lot of pressure on individual mentors and should be avoided if at all possible.

NB: If concerns about a student's progress in clinical practice are not brought to their attention, they will be unable do anything to improve the situation. Clearly, this would be an unfair situation. The importance of regular discussions between student, mentor and Link Lecturer cannot be over-emphasised in relation to concerns about students' progress. Occasionally, a specific action plan may be created at the mid-point review to direct the student for the remainder of their clinical placement

During the final stages of the placement, an appointment should be arranged with the student to discuss achievement of learning outcomes and to complete the final report and record in the Clinical Skills Schedule. Students are required to hand in all documentation signed by their mentor during the final week of the module when they are interviewed by their personal tutor. Failure to hand in completed documentation without prior notification to their tutor will result in the recording of a 'fail' grade being awarded. Your co-operation in completing all documentation by the last day of the placement is, therefore, very important to the student. The submission date for the Practice Assessment Document may need to be completed earlier than the student’s final week on clinical placement. Please check dates with student.

If a student does not achieve a pass score or pass grade, they will be required to complete an additional period of practice (usually in a different clinical placement) to achieve specific learning outcomes. The student's Personal Tutor will arrange this and the Link Lecturer will be able to kep you informed on progress.

Remember, your role as a mentor of clinical practice, and your contribution towards the professional development of nursing and midwifery students generally, is very important to the development of the future nursing and midwifery workforce. Some students may return to your ward once they have qualified.

Scoring of Clinical Practice

In order to meet the criteria for satisfactory progress in practice, students must achieve a minimum 40% of the total practice score for all learning outcomes assessed in practice for each Module.

Learning Opportunities

Students appreciate a range of learning opportunities whilst in clinical placement. Much of the teaching and learning which takes place in clinical areas will be ad hoc but more formal sessions, where a group of students with common needs can be taught together, can be beneficial at times and may save time for clinical staff. Mentors need to be aware of the individual needs of students and this will depend upon their previous experience, stage of training and learning outcomes and clinical skills development. Some students may have a written action plan whilst in clinical placement.

Placement Evaluation and Placement Information Review & Audit (PIRA)

The School of Nursing & Midwifery has a responsibility to monitor the quality of clinical placements to ensure that students receive appropriate experience, support and assessment in clinical practice. All students complete a Student Placement Evaluation Form at the end of every clinical placement. The evaluations are collated by the Placement Quality Lead/Administrative Assistant three times a year and circulated to the relevant clinical area by the Link lecturer and Clinical Placement Facilitator to the senior nurses for the Trust. The evaluation questions which score consistently low in many clinical areas tend to be those related to discussion of learning outcomes at opportunities at the beginning of the placement, reviewing progress and giving feedback to the student throughout the placement. This process is particularly important as it allows the student an opportunity to improve performance. Setting dates to review progress and complete documentation as stated in the induction check list will overcome this problem in many instances. Specific action plans maybe formulated based on the feedback received to improve the situation.

Completed student evaluations provide information for the annual PIRA . Briefly PIRA, establishes the information held on the clinical placement database. It provides a record of placement managers, registered mentors, the modules to which the clinical specialty relates and the numbers of students that can be supported at any one time. The annual audit is performed by the link lecturer and placement manager against the Placement Standards which is available in your Clinical Placement Student Resource Folder. The Placement Standards relate to evidence from the clinical area for example Health & Safety records, observations by Link Lecturers and the data from the student evaluations. Placement managers/mentors are encouraged to keep the recent student evaluations and the most recent PIRA in the sections of the Clinical Placement Student Resource Folder.

The majority of students have very good experiences which is reflected in the evaluations and value the contributions made to their learning by all staff in the clinical areas. Many students acknowledge the pressure of workload on staff and resources and recognize that this is ‘real life’. Some students have a less positive experience and this may be due to very specific circumstances at the time. The main issues often arise when the designated mentor/supervisor reports sick or changes duty times to meet clinical demands with the result that they are not working with their allocated student. Problems can be reduced if the nurse in charge on that day recognizes that the student may need to be allocated another mentor/supervisor.

Dress Policy

Students were provided with a Student Dress Code prior to them joining the  programme.

Student nurses and midwives work closely with the public during clinical placements, and the School and placement providers require that all students promote a positive professional image, whether they are wearing uniform or their own clothes (mufti). The School policy is based on the dress policies of the local placement providers and the Department of Health document Uniforms and Workwear -  An evidence base for developing local policy (DoH 2007).

Statement of Intent

All students will dress and present themselves in such a manner as to instill public trust and confidence, and promote a positive professional image whether wearing uniform or mufti. Students’ dress and appearance must be professional at all times. Uniform or mufti should be comfortable, will be worn and cared for in such a way that ensures personal and patient safety.

Placement Managers, Mentors, Supervisors, Clinical Staff, School Staff, Link Lecturers and Clinical Placement Facilitators / Student Support Facilitators are expected to monitor students' compliance with this policy.

Students with disabilities

Students with disabilities (e.g. dyslexia) may need additional support for their learning both in the theoretical and practical components of their course. Please read powerpoint presentation Supporting Students with Dyslexia in Clinical Practice and view this additional weblink http://www.ahead.ie/userfiles/file/shop/free/Nursing_guidelines.pdf

Developments that all Mentors need to be aware of

USEFUL LINKS:

NMC Standards to support learning and assessment in practice. NMC standards for mentors, practice teachers and teachers

http://www.nmc-uk.org/aArticle.aspx?ArticleID=1658
Please read the above document it contains information on applying the standards to supporting learning and assessment in practice, role of Mentor and the Sign-off Mentor. Further information on Sign-off Mentors will be published soon.

NEW INFORMATION from the NMC June 2008 - http://www.nmc-uk.org/Documents/Circulars/2008circulars/NMC%20circular%2009_2008.pdf

NMC Essential Skills Clusters

http://standards.nmc-uk.org/PublishedDocuments/Annexe%203%20-%20Essential%20skills%20cluster%20and%20guidance%2020100916.pdf

The Essential Skills Clusters (ESC’s) for nursing, are skills statements set out under a number of broad headings that complement some of the NMC’s outcomes and proficiencies contained within the Standards of proficiency for pre-registration nursing education.
The nursing ESC’s identify skills:
Under broad headings fundamental to best practice
That reflect patient expectation of new qualifiers in specific areas
That relate to all nursing fields of practice
That require to be demonstrated before entry to the branch programme and prior to registration
Relating to: care and compassion, communication, organisational aspects of care, infection prevention and control, nutrition and fluid maintenance and medicines management across all fields of practice
That complement existing NMC outcomes and proficiencies
Required to be incorporated within pre-registration nursing programmes
Mapped to both Standards of proficiency for pre-registration nursing education and to the NMC Code of professional conduct: standards for conduct, performance and ethics
That will be subject to ongoing monitoring and review

The students' Practice Assessment Documentation over the three years of their programme will cover the above areas. 

Skills for Health

http://www.skillsforhealth.org.uk/
Skills for Health, the Sector Skills Council for the healthcare sector, has been asked to develop a quality assurance framework for healthcare education by the Department of Health and Strategic Health Authorities.
The aim of the framework - entitled Enhancing Quality in Partnership (EQuIP) - is to act as the mechanism through which SHAs in England can quality assure their healthcare education and training commissions.

Clinical Placement Facilitators

Every Trust has a Clinical Placement Facilitator (CPF) to support the development of existing and new placement opportunities. The CPF has an important role, with the increased demand on a wide range of clinical placements. The CPF’s are based in your Trust Organisation with a remit to provide a link between the Trust, the School and West Midlands Deanery. If you wish to contact your CPF please click on Contact Details for CPF's

Information for Link Lecturers

Link Lecturer List

Further Information and Support

If you want to clarify anything or require further information on the update or for your Clinical Placement Student Resource Folder  please contact your Link Lecturer, Clinical Placement Facilitator / Student Support Facilitator or Placement Quality Lead: Abbie Fordham Barnes

Thank you for all the support you give our students.