Challenges related to supervision and assessment of students
As the nurse mentor, you may experience challenges in supervision and assessment of students during the placement period. For example, this may be a lack of time to provide supervision, a feeling of inadequacy, difficulty giving guidance to students who are more experienced and skilled, students who are passive and unmotivated, or students who are academically weak. It can also be challenging if you conduct peer-learning mentoring, where the students have different levels of experience. If you are a newly qualified nurse, you may find the role of mentorship very challenging. Inform the nurse educator and ask for support and advice if you experience difficult situations or challenges in the mentorship role. In cases where you are unsure or consider that a student is at risk of not passing the clinical placement period, it is very important to collaborate closely with the nurse educator and preferably other colleagues who have been involved in the mentorship practices of this student.
Contact the nurse educator at an early stage and plan how the student will be followed up. Here, it is important to include the head of department to find good solutions together.
Good advice:
Clarify expectations and the division of responsibilities
Clarify expectations and the division of responsibilities between the student, nurse educator and nurse mentor in the discussion of goals. This is a good starting point for planning the supervision and follow-up of the student throughout the entire clinical placement period.
Assess the need for a secondary contact
Having two registered nurse mentors for each student/team of students can be an advantage. Through the exchange of experiences and discussions about the students’ professional development, such collaboration can help reduce uncertainty in assessment situations.
Get in touch with nurse educator at an early stage
Inform the nurse educator and ask for support and advice if you experience difficult situations or challenges in your mentorship role or mentorship practices. Together with the teacher, plan how the student will be followed up. Here, it is important to include the head of department to find good solutions together.
Failed clinical placement period and suitability assessment
If a student receives a ‘fail’ grade for their clinical placement period, written notification from the educational institution must be given no later than three (3) weeks before the end of the clinical placement period. If a student receives a failure grade for their mid-term assessment, this is considered a notification. The nurse educator is responsible for giving written notification.
Pursuant to the Act relating to Universities and University Colleges, the educational institution is required to assess whether a student is suitable for the profession. A suitability assessment is used to establish whether a student has the necessary prerequisites to work as a future nurse. If one or more of the criteria in the Regulations relating to suitability assessment in higher education are met, a student may be considered unsuitable. Here is more information about suitability assessment under Section 4: Assessment criteria for speech therapist, music therapist, health and social care programmes, and interpreter training in sign language.
We wish you the best of luck with your supervision. You can make a big difference!
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