Exploration of Students & Mentors Experiences of Grading Student Competence in Practice. Janet ScammellVanessa Heaslip Senior Academic Practice LearningSenior Lecturer Nursing Centre for Wellbeing and Quality of Life School of Health & Social Care

2 Overview of presentation  Context and aim of the grading practice project  Overview of stage one  Stage 2: findings of a questionnaire survey of students and mentors exploring their perceptions of grading in practice.  Implications  Recommendations for future practice

3 Local Context Review of pre-registration nursing curriculum (2005) -Academic credit for practice units of study -Grading system -Practice profiles introduced (Sept 2005) Stage 1 evaluation using qualitative methods at the end of year 1 (Scammell et al. 2007)

4 National Context  National concerns re fitness for practice at point of registration  Standards to Support Learning and Assessment in Practice (2006); revised 2008:  To meet the requirements of the NMC equality and diversity scheme  To incorporate changes to specialist practitioner award and practice teacher standard. In addition: Increased focus upon mentorship Annual updates and tri-annual review Clarification of roles of both HEI and Practice Partners. Introduction of the sign-off mentors.

5 Methodology Questionnaires Convenience Sampling 112/130 (86.6% response rate) All branches Responded Convenience sampling Years 2 and 3 107/210 (51% response rate) Adult, Mental Health, Child Health Pilot Questionnaire with 10 students representing all braches 5 Mentors from Adult, Child Health and Learning Disability Revised Questionnaire Mentor Students

6 Mentor Updates Pie Chart Demonstrating Mentors Last Attendance at Updates 81.25% 10.70% 0.90% 2.80% 4.50% Attended Mentor Update in the last year Attended Mentor Update in the last 2 years Attended Mentor Update in the last 3 years Attended Mentor Update in the last 4 years Did not respond to this Question

7 Support in Practice 20.50% 28.60% 33% 15.20% 2.70% 0.00% 5.00% 10.00% 15.00% 20.00% 25.00% 30.00% 35.00% 1 Graph Demonstrating Levels of Support Perceived by Mentors When Working in Practice 1 = Very Supported = Not Supported 6.50% 33.60% 36.40% 15.00% 6.50% 0.00% 10.00% 20.00% 30.00% 40.00% 1 Graph Demonstrating Levels of Support Perceived by Students When Working in Practice 1 = Very Supported = Not Supported  Mentors expressed higher levels of support than students.  Both mentors and students allocated a high neutral grade to these questions.

8 Support in Practice Mentors  Work colleagues (89.7%; n=96 )  LF/PE (49.5%; n=53)  Link tutors (15.9%; n=17)  Family (7.5%; n=8)  Friends (3.7%; n=4)  Others (1.9%, n=2) Students  Work colleagues (83.3%; n=85),  Friends (76.5%; n=78)  Family (57.8%; n=59)  Link Tutors (18.6%; n= 19)  Learning Facilitators (17.6%; n=18),  Practice Educators (16.7%; n=17)  Others (6.9%; n=7)

9 Assessment and Feedback The evaluation identified that team mentorship occurred within practice. Whilst continuous assessment occurred this was not always matched by continuous feedback.

10 Confidence in Grading Practice 0.00% 10.00% 20.00% 30.00% 40.00% 50.00% 60.00% 70.00% 1 Graph Demonstrating Levels of Mentors Confidence to Grade Practice 1 = Very Confident = Not Confident Missing Mentors “Satisfying to give graded feedback, to indicate whether they are a borderline pass or are really excelling” “Gives students something to aim for” Students “Marks your practice skills and not your academic ability” “The opportunity to show my abilities in practice as I find the academic work hard but my practical work is much better”

11 Allocation of Grade Awarded Did not receive a grade that required second marking because…….. Yes StudentMentor Performance did not meet criteria 34.4%86.8% No appropriately qualified staff on duty 31.2%4.4% Too difficult for staff to get work second marked 49.5%1.5% Takes too long Other Factor 19.4% 22.6% 1.5% 5.7%

12 Failing to Fail Pie Chart Demonstrating Confidence of Mentors to Fail Students 59.80% 19.60% 17.90% 2.70% Confident Neutral Not Confident Missing Data Pie Chart Demonstrating Mentor Responses when asked if they would like more Education on Failing 60% 33% 7% Yes No Missing  Failing students (Duffy, 2003)  Theoretically the introduction of criteria to enable assessment should increase confidence in failing students, yet this does not appear to be the case in practice.  Reopens the debate as to whether a mentorship and an assessment role are complimentary

13 Implications Grading practice values the practice element of the programme and those that assess it Mentor preparation/update Mentor support On-going feedback Reliability Mentor and assessor?

14 Recommendations Retain the idea of grading practice and refine the tool Focus mentor update on support, feedback and dealing with borderline practice Engage mentors in developing ideas for updating mechanisms Develop more sophisticated systems for early warning and intervention for borderline students

15 Final Thoughts Grading practice is well received but quality assurance is essential; supportive structures for mentors and students is a significant part of this. Contact details: Janet Scammell Centre for Quality of Life and Wellbeing School of Health and Social Care, Bournemouth University Vanessa Heaslip Centre for Quality of Life and Wellbeing School of Health and Social Care, Bournemouth University