NS6317Revised Developing mentors to support students in practice, Part 3: Creating an environment for learning
Summary
This article, the third of an eleven part series, will offer advice and practical tips to new and
existing mentors / practice teachers to enable them to develop within their role as a mentor
and aid them in developing a portfolio of evidence that meets the Nursing and Midwifery
Council (NMC 2008a) Standards to Support Learning and Assessment in Practice (SSLAP).
It will stress the importance of creating a good quality practice placement, furthermore it will
examine the essential components that make an effective good quality practice placement all
of which directly relate to the fifth domain and outcomes of the Nursing and Midwifery
Councils (2008a) SSLAP named ‘Creating an Environment for Learning. The article
essentially presents a number of suggested ways in which this domain can be achieved and
how mentors can utilise these methods in order to demonstrate and gather evidence to show
they have met NMC (2008a) domain and outcomes for ‘Creating an Environment for
Learning’. More importantly a number of learning activities and useful tips will be
incorporated to aid prospective and existing mentors / practice teachers to undertake various
self assessments in achieving this domain. This will hopefully assist mentors / practice
teachers in gathering relevant evidence in order to demonstrate how they have met the
aforementioned domain and outcomes as part of the requirement to become or maintain the
NMC (2008a) mentor / practice teacher requirements. For more in-depth information on the
NMC (2008a) SSLAP and requirements refer to part 1 of the series ‘Developing mentors to
support students in practice, Part 1: Standards to Support Learning and Assessment in
Introduction
Importance of Practice Placements
The importance of good high quality practice placements has been emphasised for many
years. In 1999 the Department of Health stressed the need for high quality practice
placements as part of it’s plan to modernise the National Health Service (Department of
Health (DH), 1999; 2000; English National Board and DH 2000). The Scottish Government
and NHS Education for Scotland (NES) are also committed to developing appropriately
supportive and challenging learning environments for all staff as part of their national
approach to mentor preparation (NES 2007). In the same year that Scotland developed a
national approach to mentorship the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) published the second
edition of the Code of Practice for the assurance of academic quality and standards in Higher
Education: Section 9 work-based and placement learning which supports the national arrangements within the United Kingdom for quality assurance in higher education. The code identifies a comprehensive series of system-wide principles (precepts) covering matters relating to the management of academic quality and standards in higher education and in particular this section relates to practice placements (QAA 2007). Supportive learning environments are crucial to develop the future workforce and provision of practice
placements are a vital part of the education process (Royal College of Nursing (RCN) 2007,
Ripley 2007). Stuart (2007) also stressed that practice placements are just as important as the
University learning. Therefore it can argued that student practice experience is widely
acknowledged as being one of the most important facets of a student’s educational
preparation to become a healthcare practitioner (Glen and Parker 2003; Royal College of
Nursing 2007) and is of upmost concern. In addition, Papp et al (2003) asserts that student
nurses highly value clinical practice and the opportunities it offers. Nevertheless, one of the
takes place. In a qualitative study by Papp et al (2003) they found that practice placements
are very difficult to control, are constantly changing and sometimes unpredictable.
Furthermore, a later study by Loftmark et al (2008) found that not only is a supportive
practice placement fundamental but so are the staff within them. Conflicting demands on staff
can seriously hinder the quality of the practice learning. Therefore, creating a good high
quality practice placement for learning is a vital role and responsibility of the mentor (Walsh
2010). The practice placement should provide the ideal environment for mentors to ensure
students relate theory to practice (Koh 2002; RCN 2007). For effective learning to occur, the
practice setting must embody an ethos that nurtures and supports learning and does not deter
it (Walsh 2010). Earlier work by Donaldson and Carter (2005) also implied that to ensure
students do not have negative experiences this is a need for clear guidelines and best practice
models to be in place. Domain 4 of NMC (2008a) SSLAP is to ‘Create an Environment for
Learning’ (See box 1) mentor and practice teachers should always be reviewing and looking
at ways to maintain and enhance their own practice placement as an environment for
learning.
Identifying aspects of the learning environment that could be enhanced
Identifying aspects of the learning environment that could be enhanced is one of the many
responsibilities of the mentor and practice teacher (NMC 2008a). There are many ways that
mentors and practice teachers can review the practice placements to help to identify ways to
improve them. Undertaking a SWOT analysis of the placement (Walsh 2010) or analysing
the practice placement using one of the many published placement checklists could be
considered. Learning activity 1 utilises a checklist approach (see Table 1) that has been
adapted from the RCN (2007) toolkit the DH & ENB (2000) placement checklist. Now
undertake the following learning activity 1 as it will be an ideal staring point to enable the
Learning Activity 1
Look at the check list in table 1. Analyse your own clinical area / practice placement against the checklist statements and take into consideration all the components discussed above.
Can you identify the gaps within your practice placement.
What areas do you consider need to be improved upon and how do you intend to do this? Now devise an action plan of how you intend to meet any short comings identified – set yourself realistic timeframes from when you anticipate these actions to be completed.
You can now place your completed check list, action plan and notes in the portfolio and map these against the relevant domains and outcomes
Evaluation and Monitoring
It is good practice to regularly review the practice placement and it can ensure that mentors /
practice teachers continue to maintain an environment for learning. For a more in-depth
discussion on evaluation of learning read part 8 of the series called Developing mentors to
support students in practice, Part 8: Evaluation of learning. It is important to stress that
mentors and practice teachers need to ensure that they regularly evaluate learning that is
taking place to ensure that they continue to provide an optimum environment for learning.
This can be undertaken in a number of ways as can be seen from the discussion and activities
within this article. Mentors and practice teachers may wish to carry out these activities on an
annual basis. In addition, every placement should seek student feedback on the learning
experience and from this feedback they should be able to identify any areas that need to be
improved which will then enhance the learning opportunities for future students (Walsh
they return to the University and forwarded to the relevant practice placement is essential and
also seen as good practice. By drawing on these evaluation methods and the data that is
produced practice placements are able to monitor, improve and maintain a quality learning
environment.
From the learning activity 1 it can be seen that there are numerous factors and attributes that
can assist in creating an optimum learning environment, therefore, mentors and practice
teachers need to consider and look at ways to achieve these in order to maintain and enhance
the student’s learning experience.
Ways to enhance and create an optimum learning environment for students. Mentors / Practice Teachers
Creating a good learning environment is the real substance of mentoring (Walsh 2010). The
key to any successful quality practice placement is the role of the mentor / practice teacher
and according to the NMC (2008a) it is the mentor / practice teacher’s responsibility to
ensure students encounter good quality placements. The SSLAP (NMC 2008a) fifth domain
states that mentors / practice teachers need to demonstrate that they can create an optimum
environment for learning. Thus mentors and practice teachers are fundamental to the
student’s smooth entry into the practice placement (Baglin and Rugg 2010). The student
-mentor relationship is a multi-dimensional role which can be viewed differently by the
student and mentor, both having different expectations (Wilkes 2006). Student learning is
enhanced when they work with enthusiastic and approachable staff (Gopee et al 2004). The
qualities and attributes of the mentor form an important element of the practice placement
(Gray and Smith 2000). There is a plethora of research that discusses the students’ perceived
qualities and attributes of a good mentor and these have been addressed in a previous article.
series: ‘Developing mentors to support students in practice: Establishing Effective Working
Relationships’.
Orientation and Welcoming Students
The first vital ingredient for creating a learning environment is to ensure a good working
student-mentor relationship is established from the start. First impressions count and students
value knowing that they are expected and made welcome will ease some of the anxieties
(Walsh 2010). Advanced planning according to Jokelainen et al (2011) creates a supportive
learning environment. This should commence with a thorough, well planned and structured
induction and orientation – taking onto account the physiological and safety requirements.
Maslow’s (1970) ‘Hierarchy of human needs’ identifies that learning cannot take place
before the physiological and safety requirements have been met. Therefore ensuring that
students are welcomed, orientated, (including; placement layout, fire exits, location of toilets,
where to place personal belongings, breaks, shifts patterns, contact numbers, a discussion of
health and safety issues and procedures), and integration into the team is vital. The next stage
is to build on the relationship with the student, a rapid welcome and integration of the student
into the team will enable students to take advantage of learning opportunities early on in the
placement (Walsh 2010). Casey and Clark (2011) warn that students who feel unwanted are
therefore less likely to perform. Walsh (2010) also purports that getting to know the student is
key, finding out their likes, interests and any domestic, childcare or transport issues will help
the student feel respected, acknowledged and motivated.
Practice Placement Culture and Leadership Style
Although it is the mentor’s / practice teacher’s role to ensure the student experiences a good
quality practice placement according to Papp et al (2003) suitable surroundings for clinical
practice are also vital for learning and a good environment is described as one where there is
appreciated and given opportunities to study. Furthermore, student nurses need support and
nurturing to meet their learning needs (McAllister 2001; Burns and Patterson 2005) however,
as well as being supported students regard the staff attitudes and behaviours within the
practice placement to be an important element for the learning (Jackson and Mannix 2001;
Papp et al 2003; Palmer et al 2005). Thus practice placement staff have a major influence on
the quality of learning (Pearce 2004). Morgan (2004) also contends that when practice
placement staff have a negative attitude towards the students it makes them feel insecure and
frightened. A number of earlier studies by Orton (1981) and Fretwell (1983) demonstrate that
the ward manager is key to the attitudes of staff towards learning in the placement area.
Further research in the nineties by Gerrish (1990) also found that if the manager promotes
learning this will have a positive effect on the attitudes of others. Similarly, a later
international study in 2002 found the leadership style of the ward manger remains an
important element (Saarikoski and Leino-Kilpi 2002). However, although the ward manager
has overall responsibility for student learning Gerrish (1990) contends that this is a low
priority of their managerial duties. In contrast Morgan and Collins (2002) have identified that
some managers remain committed to student learning whilst many others state that it is the
staff nurse that is key to facilitating student learning (Condell et al 2001).
Not only are mentors and practice teachers responsible for ensuring they review ways to
maintain, enhance and provide an optimum learning environment, however another important
aspect of the fifth domain of the NMC (2008a) SSLAP is to ensure students access a range of
learning experiences that involve patients, clients carers and ensure that students work and
Enabling students to access a range of learning experiences to learn and work within interprofessional teams, involving patients, clients and careers.
Team mentoring.
Papp et al (2003) assert that students felt being part of the team constituted a good practice
placement. One way to ensure students are integrated within the team is through the use of
team mentoring. Moreover, Baldry Currens and Bithell (2000) and Caldwell et al (2008)
found that students appreciate team mentoring as they value working with a range of staff
members. Team mentoring involves one mentor being responsible for the student learning
and facilitating / co-ordinating the students learning experience. It fosters the ethos that the
student does not just belong to the mentor but the whole team (Walsh 2010). All staff within
the team contribute to the student learning but it is essential that they feedback to the named
mentor regarding the students progress. However, Caldwell et al (2008) asserts that all staff
involved must understand their role and responsibilities in the student’s education process
with effective communication being paramount. Nevertheless, they elaborate that the use of a
team mentoring approach could potentially relieve some of the burden on the named mentor;
it allows diversity of experiences and teaching styles. In addition it draws upon the strengths
in the team to enable students to meet their learning needs and gain a better understanding of
team working (Caldwell et al 2008). Furthermore, it could strengthen the reliability and
validity of the students assessment (Gopee et al 2004) as it could potentially reduce bias
enabling a fairer assessment especially if there are difficulties with the student-mentor
relationship (Redfern et al 2002) In contrast, Walsh (2010) warns that care must be taken that
the mentor does not disown the student and attention must be given to ensure that the student
does not feel unsupported. In addition, students may miss out on opportunities and feel
unsupported if it is not clear which mentor has the overall responsibility for their supervision
worst case scenario they may not achieve the required learning outcomes by the end of the
practice placements and may possibly fail their placement through no fault of their own.
Another role and responsibility of a mentor and practice teacher requires them to act as a
resource to facilitate personal and professional development of others and team mentoring
can assist with this element. This is specifically mentioned in the fifth domain stage 2 of the
mentor standards of the NMC (2008a) SSLAP. However, whether a mentor or a practice
teacher, both roles involves the facilitation of developing others personally and professionally
and this facilitative role is crucial, however, it can be very time consuming and good time
management and organisational skills are the key to success
Acting as a resource to facilitate personal and professional development of others Time and supernumerary status
Finding time is one of the crucial factors of an effective practice placement, yet it is often the
most difficult to achieve. However, finding time to assist your students to reflect on their
experience is essential. Students have reported that just spending time with their mentor
enhances their experiences and Walsh (2010) asserts that the opportunity for frequent short
interactions helps students feel supported. Furthermore, a requirement by the NMC (2008a)
includes students spending at least 40% of their time on placement working directly or
indirectly with their named mentor. According to Beskine (2009) the mentor may delegate
educationally focused tasks involving patient care to the student, however, goes on to stress
that it is important though not to take advantage of the student and use them as a ‘pair of
hands’. They should be released from these tasks in order to be involved in other
opportunistic learning opportunities as and when they arise. For students in the community
the time spent between travelling from patient to patient to discuss the patient’s condition,
Learning Activity 2
Consider the discussion above. Now reflect on your clinical area/ practice placement as an environment for learning. Look at the strengths and limitations of your area in supporting student learning.
Make a note of these strengths and limitations.
What areas do you considered need to be improved upon and how do you intend to do this? Discuss with your team and also you University Link tutor. Make a list and set goals / actions in how you intend to improve the issues raised. Negotiate with your team and Link tutor to make these appropriate changes
You can now place your reflection and other notes in the portfolio and map these against the relevant domains and outcomes
to make effective use of time (Price 2004a). Spending time with the student is essential.
Mentors and practice teachers need to find time to spend with the students either immediately
following a patient intervention and or to factor in half hour at the end of the shift. This time
should be used to enable the student to discuss and reflect on the experience gained. Having
read the above factors that enable an optimum learning environment consider the above
discussion and complete learning activity 2.
Other resources
Other resources are also important, ideally students should have access to a quiet room or
space where they can locate resources and use them to inform their practice. The quiet space
should hold up to date journals, books, health promotion leaflets, National Institute for Health
and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines and internet access to name but a few. However,
Walsh (2010) warns that students should not spend too much time engaged with these
Learning Activity 3
Take some time to identify the members of the team that can assist in providing structured formal teaching sessions.
Make a list of the other Multi-disciplinary team members that can also contribute to this
Now contact these staff and ascertain if they are willing to support you and what topic areas have been identified?
Can you now plan a rolling programme of structured teaching sessions? Can this be an open forum for other students in a nearby speciality practice placement?
Now place your ideas, notes and devised plan in the portfolio and map these against the relevant domains and outcomes
of resources does not necessarily mean better learning. Moreover, these will need regular
revision (Ripley 2007) as the service provision may subtly change over time. Within the
practice placement there is an immense amount of informal teaching, however more formal
structured teaching sessions could be planned and delivered. This can be offered by the staff
within the practice placement that have an interest or expertise within a particular area of
practice or by any other professional who have links with the practice area. A rolling
programme over several months could be planned and dates, times, venue along with the
topics could be highlighted in the student induction pack or notice board so that they are fully
informed of what is on offer and thus demonstrates that their learning has been planned.
Collecting, preparing and updating learning resource such as, journals, books, NICE
guidelines, access to the internet and teaching packs for student to access along with
organising teaching sessions is seen as good practice, however the most valuable learning
resources a student can access are patients, clients, carers and other professionals.
Utilising a range of learning experiences, involving patients, clients, carers, professionals and working closely with others involved in education in the practice and academic setting.
Patients, clients, carers
The valuable contribution of service users and carer groups should be rooted in nursing
departments in universities and respected and accepted as a vital part of the team in the
education of nurses (Hemingway et al 2012). The NMC (2008a) stresses the need for
patients, clients, service users and carers to be part of the student teaching, learning and
assessment experience. Stockhausen (2008) agrees and draws attention to the fact that
services users are willing to offer themselves as a resource for learning. Suikkala and
Leino-Kilpi (2005) also found that patients have a strong commitment and are willing to assist
students to gain experience. Many patients, clients and carers have experience of living with
their conditions and have come to terms with their diagnosis / disease. Students can draw
upon these valuable insights to gain knowledge and understanding of living with such
illnesses. Involving students in direct patient contact and contribution to patient care goes
without saying for it is only through this exposure that students can learn (Stockhausen
2008). Gordon et al (2004) stress that by using teaching approaches that promote service user
involvement and using their ‘real’ life experiences can demonstrate to students the
importance of interprofessional working. From the students perspective they value learning
Learning Activity 4
Take some time to reflect on the above discussion.
Now think about how you can enable patients, clients and carers to contribute to the student learning apart for the obvious in them caring for their needs.
List some of the differing ways the service user can contribute within your particular practice placement.
Can you suggestions be shared with other mentors / practice teachers in your practice placement or added to the induction pack / or student notice boards so that all students can engage in these alternative ways of learning
Now place your ideas, notes and suggestions in the portfolio and map these against the relevant domains and outcomes
the patient’s journey and it allows the student the opportunity to talk and listen to service
users and to learn this from their lived experience. Although this can be ethically challenging
at times mentors and practice teachers need to look at ways in which service users can
contribute to providing an optimum learning environment. Experienced mentors and practice
teachers are knowledgeable about patients’ conditions and therefore can identify learning
opportunities associated with patients that a student may not have noticed (Stockhausen
2005) Thus mentors and practice teachers should facilitate and encourage students to engage
with patients, clients and carers at every opportunity. Now complete learning activity 4
Hub and Spoke
The NMC (2008a) states that a range of experiences for students should be provided by
mentor and practice teachers and that this is seen as one of the qualities of being a good
with other members of the immediate team and members of the multi-disciplinary team
(MDT) thus providing a directory of useful contacts of the MDT which is suggested by
Channell (2002). Failure to provide these opportunities could result in a lack of relevant
experiences (Beskine 2009). However staff shortages and sickness can hinder this and affect
student learning. Although a variety of healthcare practitioners such as specialist therapists
can provide valuable learning opportunities for nursing students they are unable to act as the
named mentor / practice teacher, thus the use of the ‘hub’ and ‘spoke’ model enables students
to learn from other professionals to enhance their experience. The ‘hub’ and ‘spoke’ model
not only promotes a quality learning environment but also maximises learning opportunities
and exposure to inter-professional practice to broaden the student experience. The ‘hub’
placement is where the student is allocated to an area in practice and assigned a named
mentor Roxburgh and Bradley (2012). The ‘spoke’ placement is a secondary learning
experience that is related to the ‘hub’ (Roxburgh and Bradley (2012). The ‘spoke’ can
provide learning opportunities that may not be available within the ‘hub’ placement and are
linked to the patient’s journey so that a comprehensive view of care can be experienced.
Roxburgh et al (2012) purports that the ‘hub and spoke model’ provides the student with a
deep and meaningful person centred learning approach.
The named mentor in the ‘hub’ placement should negotiate and arrange for the students to
spend time with another member of the MDT (spoke placement) which may vary in length
from a couple of hours to a few days. Whilst in the spoke placement the student is supported
by a named supervisor who supervises and reports to the named mentor in the hub. One way
in which a mentor can identify the relevant MDT members is through reflecting on a number
of patient journeys from the ‘hub’ practice placement and map these to the students learning
Learning Activity 5
Take some time to identify the members of the team that can assist in the student learning opportunities.
Make a list of the Multi-disciplinary team members that can provide relevant learning experiences – and act as spokes placements. How can they contribute to the students learning journey?
Now look at a number of patient pathways – list the other member of staff that the patient will encounter during their patient journey. Add these to you list. Again analyse how these will contribute to the students learning
Now you can devise a directory of relevant staff members and spoke placement that should include staff contact name, and numbers and location.
Now place your notes and directory list of members of the MDT from your patient pathways that you have considered as potential spokes in the portfolio and map these against the relevant domains and outcomes
should be able to identify a number of patient pathways which in turn could become a
valuable student learning pathway. McClimens et al (2013) in their study found that patient
pathways benefited students by offering more opportunities for learning, exposed students to
specialist and emerging fields of practice and allowed students to prepare for particular roles
on registration. The student can closely follow a patient’s pathway through the health care
system to gain the knowledge and understanding of the care and treatment required. Now
complete learning activity 5.
As can be seen from the above discussion there are many elements that contribute to
providing an effective learning environment. A summary of the elements of a good practice
Portfolio Development
As previously discussed mentors are required to demonstrate they have met the NMC (2008a)
SSLAP of stage 2 of the framework through the development of a portfolio. The fifth domain
of these standards includes ‘Creating an Environment for Learning’ (Box 1). By working
through the above ‘learning activities’ included in this article – the work produced may well
now provide appropriate and excellent evidence towards this domain and outcomes. In
addition following the experience of facilitating a learner in practice further evidence would
be generated once the welcome and orientation process for the allocated students has taken
place. Providing the student gives consent, copy the students University orientation checklist
and initial interview, midpoint meeting and the final meeting documentation ensuring
anonymity to maintain confidentiality (NMC 2008b), along with any other action plans (if
devised and completed). These constitute excellent pieces of evidence. Moreover, by
undertaking a reflection on how the mentor has created an environment for learning for a
recent student and the process that has taken place would also provide some excellent
evidence towards this domain. Furthermore, through the students own evaluation of their
learning experience or completion of a placement evaluation form may also prove valuable in
meeting this particular domain, along with any thank you cards or student testimonies.
Finally all the above should be mapped and cross referenced against the relevant NMC
(2008a) SSLAP as the evidence will not only meet the domain ‘Creating an Environment for
Learning’ but they may also meet the any of the other eight domains (see box 3) such as
‘Establishing Effective Working Relationships, ‘Facilitation of Learning’ Evaluation of
Summary
Practice placements are essential for student learning, allowing them to relate theory to
practice and gain the necessary skills to become competent practitioners. Creating an
environment for learning is key to this and the mentor / practice teacher has a crucial role in
supporting a student’s learning. There are many components to creating an optimum learning
environment and building a rapport and successful relationships is one of the first stages that
take time and effort. A thorough orientation will provide a good first impression and help to
relieve any initial anxieties. Reviewing and identifying ways to enhance the practice
placement in relation to the support provided, ward culture, team mentoring, and the planning
of learning opportunities and resources, will enable mentors to assist in providing an
environment for learning and thus assist them in meeting this domain. The mentor / practice
teacher should have a number of fruitful and good quality pieces of evidence to place in the
portfolio in order meet a number of the NMC (2008a) SSLAP by reviewing themselves and
their practice placement along with completing the above learning activities in addition to
gaining experience in practice. The next two issues of ‘developing mentors to support
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Box 1
Creating an Environment for Learning (NMC 2008a) Stage 2 - mentor
Support students to identify both learning needs and experiences that are appropriate to their level of learning
Use a range of learning experiences, involving patients, clients, carers and the professional team, to meet defined learning needs
Identify aspects of the learning environment which could be enhanced – negotiating with others to make appropriate changes
Act as a resource to facilitate personal and professional development of others. Stage 3 – practice teacher
Enable students to access opportunities to learn and work within interprofessional teams
Initiate the creation of optimum learning environments for students at registration level and those in education at a level beyond initial registration
Work closely with others involved in education, in practice and academic settings, to adapt to change and inform curriculum development
Box 2
Elements of a Good Practice Placement
Practice placement culture – which includes support for continuing professional development
Use of Evidenced Based Practice A good welcome and orientation Good role models of all staff Adequate staffing levels
Enough mentors along with essential qualities and attitudes Good learning resources
Time for learning and student support
Placements that are organised and student learning is planned Students being respected and feeling valued and part of the team Supernumerary status honoured
Range of experiences relevant to the students stage and level of learning Monitoring of practice placement using audit tools and evaluation methods
identifying areas and way to improve and meet any short comings Strong university links with academic and PEF’s
Mapping of the curriculum to identify learning opportunities
Box 3
Domains (NMC 2008a)
1. Establishing effective working relationships
2. Facilitation of learning
3. Assessment and accountability
4. Evaluation of learning
5. Creating an environment for learning
6. Context of practice
7. Evidenced based practice
Table 1
Adapted from The RCN (2007) Toolkit and Placement in Focus; Placement checklist (DH and ENB 2001)
Statement: key questions which address the guidance for good practice.
Yes No Action to be taken / by whom and date to be achieved
Does your practice placement have a profile which
determines:
maximum number and type of students at any time
in a placement
the stage, level and skills required by the student before beginning the practice
experience
the learning opportunities available and the learning outcomes expected from the placement?
Does the practice placement have a stated philosophy of care which is reflected in practice and supports the curriculum aims?
Does the practice provision reflect respect for the rights of health service users and their carers?
Does the provision of care reflect respect for the privacy, dignity and religious and cultural beliefs and practices of patients and clients?
Is the provision of care based on relevant research-based and evidence-based findings where available?
Do you have adequate mentors to support and assess the student’s and to observe the student’s achievement of the intended learning outcomes over a suitable period of time?
Do students gain experience as part of a multiprofessional team?
A mentor is allocated prior to placement
Do you send / email new students a welcome letter before their arrival? Do you orientate the student to the practice placement on their first day?
Do you provide the student with an Induction pack that contains: • staff profile
• contact details – shift pattern • type of placement / specialism • learning opportunities
• specialist information • resource list
• recommended reading
Do you check that the student has received the required mandatory training/updates
Do you ensure you introduce the students to the practice placement team within the first week
Ensure you undertake the initial meeting with your student in the first week
Establish roles, responsibilities and expectations in terms of standards and attitudes
Ensure you enquire about any additional support needs
Discuss and agree the midpoint and final meeting dates and note them in the relevant documents / communication diaries. Agree a timetable for working together
Know the programme and establish the student’s level of training
Establish the student’s required learning outcomes
Be aware of the assessment requirements
Do you give the opportunity for students to receive consistent supervision and support
during all practice placements and work at least 40% of the time with their mentor
During the final placement, ensure that the student spends an
additional one hour per week with a sign-off mentor
Ensure that supervision is given by a registered nurse or midwife (as applicable) when undertaking clinical skills
Do you agree achievable time frames for meeting learning outcomes Are students’ learning needs, achievements and opportunities reviewed regularly?
Do you ensure you offer constructive feedback on progress at regular intervals
Contact the PEF and / OR HEI link if the student is not achieving
Do you ensure you complete the practice assessment documentation in the final week
Is a learning resources area available in the practice environment?
Does student feedback contribute to the ongoing evaluation of the learning environment and the student experience and are all stakeholders aware of the feedback?
