Supporting Student Nurses in Practice Settings
Work Based Learning Team
Faculty of Health & Wellbeing, UCLan
Support whilst on placement
Programmes within the field of Health & Wellbeing often contain large elements of work-based learning, many of which commence within months of starting the programme. Whilst this provides excellent opportunity to develop as a professional from the outset of a programme, it also presents challenges which students based largely within the University setting may not experience. It can also be challenging to know who to turn to when support or guidance is needed to make the most of placement experiences.
This guide has been brought together to identify the roles of different members of academic and placement teams in providing comprehensive, seamless support.
Support is offered by both academic and placement staff, with each member of the team having a clear role to offer in providing support.
Support spanning academic and practice settings
Academic advisor
Continuous support across academic and practice settings to help students develop in their journey to graduate nurse
The academic advisor (home group tutor) offers support in helping students to develop as a graduate nurse. Their role is to offer continuous support throughout a programme to challenge students to maximise success in both academic and practice settings. They also offer pastoral support and signposting to University student support services, particularly where this affects a students’ capacity to perform to the best of their ability.
Whilst students are in practice settings academic advisors remain available to contact and students can arrange appointments through “Starfish” to gain support. Meetings with academic advisors will generally be at the University and should be arranged on days when students are not rostered to be on placement.
Academic advisors may ‘refer’ students to any of the available support roles as appropriate to ensure the highest level of support is provided where needed.
Year Lead
Overall monitoring of student experience and performance across each year of the programme
The year lead has a responsibility for the overall monitoring of delivery of the programme within each year and students’ achievement within that year of the programme. From a practice perspective, it is unlikely that students will have contact with the year lead, except for in exceptional circumstances. However, any information shared with academic advisors may be reported to year leads for overall monitoring purposes.
Course Leader
Overall monitoring of student experience and performance across the programme
The course leader has overall responsibility for the co-ordination of the content of the programme from a field specific perspective. He/Shehas responsibility for decision making regarding “Fitness to Study” issuesand in supporting students who may need to suspend their studies for a period of time or are returning to the programme following time away. The course leader is unlikely to be involved in supporting students whilst in practice unless there are serious circumstances either raised by students or where concerns have been raised about a students’ conduct or performance. Any situations which have been reported to the year lead may also be reported to the course leader to ensure that the correct processes are followed in terms of offering longer term support.
Pre-Registration Nursing Education Manager
Academic leadership and overall co-ordination of pre-registration nursing education.
The pre-registration nursing education manager has day to day oversight and management responsibility of the pre-registration programmes of study. They are the named lead for pre-registration nursing and is the key contact for internal and external partners. They are responsible for the management of the development, delivery, monitoring and quality enhancement of the programme and student experience and also deal with all matters relating to Fitness to Practice following referral from the year leads and/or course leaders.
Support focussed within practice settings
Mentor
Supporting students in the practice setting to maximise learning opportunities and develop core competencies as set out by the NMC
Mentors are qualified practitioners who have undertaken further professional development to enable them to facilitate learning in practice and who assess a student’s achievements at intervals throughout a placement. Students should have access to their named mentor for a minimum of 40% of their time in practice (normally at least 2 shifts per week). Mentors are responsible for ensuring that students have an induction to the placement area within the first 24-48 hours and should work with students to identify specific learning outcomes are within the first week so that suitable learning opportunities can be arranged.
Students may also be allocated an associate mentor who will support learning in practice when a mentor is not available. Students also work with other members of the placement team which could include other professions which provides the opportunity to develop a greater understanding of inter professional working relationships and practices.
If a student has any concerns on placement, the first point of contact should always be the Mentor who will work with a student to develop an action plan to support achievement of learning objectives. In some circumstances or where a mentor has concerns about a student’s conduct or performance they will liaise with the Link Lecturer and the Practice Education Facilitator for the placement to facilitate development of an action plan.
P.E.F.
Supporting Mentors and students in the practice setting in the delivery of the highest quality learning environment.
Practice Education Facilitators (P.E.F.s) are responsible for ensuring the provision of high quality multiprofessional learning environments within a defined Trust or PCT and associated private and voluntary sector organisations.
In order to ensure high quality learning experiences are provided P.E.F.’s often work with our students in providing Trust Inductions, facilitating learning events within Trusts and in delivering listening events, all of which contribute to P.E.F.s being able to monitor and ensure quality learning experiences for students in practice settings.
As part of their role, P.E.F.s also provide support for students and mentors in decisions relating to student experience including the achievement of learning outcomes, competence and fitness for practice and will be involved in providing best practice advice in a clinical setting for mentors. P.E.F.s may therefore be involved in supporting Mentors or in supporting studentsdo not feel they are getting the support they need.
If students are concerned about anything within the practice setting and do not feel able to approach a Mentor or Manager within the clinical area, they should contact the named P.E.F. who will be able to work with students and Mentors to draw up an action plan to address concerns and facilitate success in the learning environment.
Where any concerns have been raised or any incidents have occurred involving students P.E.F.’s will be informed and will inform PLSU to ensure the overall monitoring of quality within a clinical area. Where incidents have involved a student, Academic Advisors & Link Lecturers will be informed by PLSU to ensure support can be offered and overall monitoring of competence and fitness to practice can occur.
Practice Learning Support Tutor
Supporting students to maximise their success in practice settings.
The skills needed to be successful in an academic learning environment are developed throughout our educational journey, from primary school onwards. Whilst some of these skills can be useful in contributing to learning in a practice setting, it is recognised that in order to maximise success in practice, a different range of skills can be influential.
The team of Practice Learning Support Tutors (PLSTs) is uniquely placed to support our students during work-based learning experiences on the first year of programmes of study. PLST’s primary role is to help guide first year Health & Wellbeing students through the first year of practice placements focussing on helping students to develop the learning skills required to be successful in this very different learning environment.
During the first year of your programme an additional layer of support is offered by the Practice Learning Support Tutors. This team sit separately to programme teams and are not part of clinical practice teams. They are therefore able to provide a unique perspective in support students in their development of skills within practice.
The team of Practice Learning Support Tutors will initially introduce themselves during Preparation for Placement weeks and will then make contact with students at regular intervals throughout first year placements to offer support. The role of the Practice Learning Support Tutors is to support students to develop the skills to learn within the clinical environment.
Where any challenges arise that are outside of this remit, the PLSTs will refer on to necessary support services and/or academic advisors.
Link Lecturers
Supporting students and Mentors in developing Graduates Nurses.
The University has a team of Link Lecturers who are assigned to each of our placement areas. The role of the Link Lecturers is to provide support to students and Mentors in ‘link’ing Theory to Practice. Link lecturers will spend time in practice on a regular basis, usually visiting each placement area once per month [these visits may be visits to a group of settings, with the link lecturer available for approach]. As part of these visits Link Lecturers will support students and Mentors in bridging the Theory/Practice gap by facilitating discussion utilising clinical guidelines/published papers. Link lecturers may run Journal clubs exploring a particular topic which students and Mentors can attend or may run Assessment Document workshops to explore how specific proficienciesmay be assessed in a clinical area, exploring the knowledge and skill base underpinning these.
Link Lecturers would also offer support where students/Mentors have identified the need for specific action planning to facilitate students achieving learning outcome, or may be called on to support decision making to ensure this is compliant with regulation.
Nurse Educators
Supporting students to develop clinical skills.
UCLan has a dedicated team of staff who work with students primarily in the academic setting in developing clinical skills. It is recognised that some students may benefit from further support in their clinical environment to develop competence in the application of these skills.
Working with practice partner, we have developed opportunity for our Nurse Educator team to be able to come into practice to support a student with the development of a specific clinical skill. This level of support would usually only be accessible following action planning approved by the Link Lecturer for a clinical area.