Critical Analysis of Decision-making of a Student Nurse Assessment Process - Essay Example

? Introduction The purpose of this paper is to present a critical analysis on the assessment made by a sign-off mentor, Roslyn, on a Gina, a nurse for final placement. The Standards to support learning and assessment in practice by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (2008) implies that a sign-off mentor’s role is to make evaluations or judgments if a student has reached the required proficiency standards for a safe and effective practice before entry to the NMC register. Having the detailed marking guidelines and assessment criteria provided in the final paper by Roslyn demonstrates the feasibility of this assessment done by Roslyn (Clouder, 2002, p.106). Therefore, this critical analysis became necessary to conduct in order to address the major issues arising from the result of the Roslyn’s assessment decision. This will be done by determining it’s adherence to regulatory boards such as the Department of Health policy, National Service Framework and the Nursing and Midwifery council. These authorities provide regulations that are arranged policies and systems for the purpose of ensuring that healthcare practitioners have the necessary attitude, skills and knowledge in order to promote safety in healthcare practice (Department of Health. 2006). Furthermore, this analysis it will determine the strengths and weaknesses of the assessment done by Roslyn. The NMC standards states that a mentor must be accountable in confirming if a student have or have not met the NMC standards for practice. must be accountable This paper shall also address concerns regarding the conduct of the assessment, the results or the final decision and finally how this can affect the student, the mentor, the future patients and the profession. Content Starting off with the conduct of the assessment, the mentor Roslyn initially shows a sense of professionalism by organizing a plan of the interview. According to the Nursing and Midwifery Council mentor standards (2008, p.19), mentors are responsible and accountable for co-ordinating and organizing student learning activities. She did this by making sure that the interview will be accomplished without interruptions since the ward is busy. Roslyn starts by praising Gina’s achievements and improvements from last time’s interview such as Gina’s improvement in timekeeping. This approach adheres to the mentor standards of providing students with constructive feedbacks. Roslyn also appears to have some reservations regarding Gina’s level of competence, a factor which might affect her assessment as a mentor. However, a mentor must also assess a student’s total performance such as the skills, attitudes and behaviors. Finally, Roslyn also considered getting the opinion of her colleagues and team members regarding the performance of Gina, which is a good point. This is so because Gina is also working with other members of the health team staff aside from her mentor Roslyn. The standards of conduct, performance and ethics for nurses and midwives by the Nursing and Midwifery council points out the importance of working with others to help protect and promote the well being of those in their care. Furthermore, the code also states that a mentor is expected to can consult from colleagues when appropriate while practicing fairness and non-discrimination. The NMC recognizes that the assessment contribution by others is a part of interprofessional learning. The following issues were raised by her team members—Gina’s tardiness, lack of initiative, poor knowledge of basic concepts and lastly her poor communication skills. In addition to this, the NMC code reiterates that a mentor must facilitate their student’s competency development. However, the resulting document of Gina’s assessment appeared to have only stated a general view about Gina’s performance. This is where the issues arise. While it is true that Roslyn mentioned during the interview the concerns regarding Gina’s communication skills, it was not stated on the final assessment paper itself. The paper on the final assessment decision appears to be lacking of specific points regarding Gina’s performance. The midpoint interview paper of Gina only presents the issue on her timekeeping while disregarding the other concerns pointed out by her colleagues such as Gina’s poor communication problems. While it is true that Roslyn mentioned to Gina about her colleagues’ concerns about her poor communication skills during the interview itself, it seemed that Roslyn failed to conform to the NMC code which states that one must keep clear and accurate records regarding discussions and assessments made. This was done by not mentioning the other issues on the paper itself. Though Roslyn thinks that Gina is a nice person and gives her advice by stressing out the importance of effective communication on the interview, these should have been documented on the final assessment paper. On the other hand, it was also a good point that Roslyn collaborate with Gina in order to make up for her shortcomings and give her a chance to achieve her goals before the end of her training. It was also found out in Duffel’s study (2003, p.68) that failing students may be given the benefit of the doubt because some have shown improvements towards the last few weeks of training. To determine the credibility of the assessment decision done by Roslyn, first let us point out the principles of fair and accurate assessment. As mentioned earlier, the NMC code states that one must keep clear and accurate records regarding discussions and assessments made. This makes Roslyn’s assessment inaccurate considering that it lacks some details from the interview and that of some colleagues. Roslyn’s judgment seemed to have been clouded by Gina’s claims of being insufficiently assisted during her training. Moreover, Gina admits that the she had problems with traveling hence the punctuality problems. In addition to this, she even appeals for consideration regarding her traveling issues and difficulties in the current area of training in child care. However, this kind of attitude only showed a lack of insight in the part of the student (Duffel, 2003, p. 36). Finally, Gina also claims to have no known problem regarding her communication during her previous placement in training. So the resulting paper only states the issue on Gina’s timekeeping. Thus, Roslyn failed to demonstrate cognizance with the legal and professional issues. Roslyn did not become objective and specific on Gina’s assessment report. This now raises some issues regarding the credibility of Roslyn’s assessment process. It only mentions that Gina has not completed all her goals and is still identifying these areas for improvement. Moreover, the concerns pointed out by her other colleagues were disregarded such as Gina’s poor communication skills and lack of necessary knowledge in her area of practice. The issue regarding Gina’s time-keeping was the only thing stressed in her final assessment paper. The assessment done by Roslyn as a mentor must be fair and anti-discriminatory. This violates the NMC code about acting with dignity which states that one must demonstrate a personal a professional commitment to equality and diversity. One must also be impartial by ensuring that a professional judgment is not affected by any commercial consideration (Nursing and Midwifery Council. 2008). Therefore, what is the competency outcome expected from a mentor as set by the NMC standards? Since the accountability of Roslyn’s decision is being discussed here, let us highlight these mentor competencies. First, a mentor must be able to establish effective working relationships. Fairly, Roslyn was able to demonstrate an understanding of the factors that may affect Gina’s practice. This was the issue about Gina’s poor communication skills. So Roslyn gave a stressing point of encouragement that Gina must work on this skill over the next few weeks of her training. Second, a mentor must help facilitate a student’s learning. In Roslyn’s case, she must be able to support Gina through her reflection on her learning experiences in order to promote and enhance future learning. After rendering the comments, Gina appeared upset and unhappy about these remarks. As a mentor, Roslyn should listen and collaborates as to what Gina’s plans are in order to improve during her last few weeks of placement. This is also when the evaluation of learning takes place, wherein Roslyn can contribute to the development of Gina’s practice. Some research also suggests that if a mentor wants something to be the focus of a student’s attention, then it should be the focus of assessment (Newble & Jaeger 1983; Schouller and Prosser, 1994). Next is the creation of an environment for learning. As mentioned earlier, Gina has claims of being insufficiently assisted and has a feeling that the people around her haven’t shown willingness to work with her to achieve outstanding outcomes. As a mentor, Roslyn should provide more time in supervising Gina in order to confirm these claims. Moreover, Gina also expresses difficulties with child care. So in order to provide a good environment for learning, the NMC standards point out that mentors should support their students in determining the learning needs and experience appropriated to their level of learning. Lastly, a mentor should be an advocate for students by helping them meet individual needs for learning. The consequence of the mentor’s decision can greatly affect the future of the student. While it is known that a majority of healthcare professionals are able to render a high quality care, there is still a small minority of whose quality of practice deemed unacceptable and lacking due to insufficient training and lack of motivation. It is important to give out an accurate assessment because this will help the student seek an opportunity for better improvement. Inaccuracy of the assessment might lead to falling hopes for the student and might give a wrong direction. Moreover, according to a study by Duffy (2003, p. 83), there has to be an acknowledgment that some students also need to fail. It is true that failing students cannot be avoided when some will not be able to meet the requirements. On the other hand, mentors should not avoid the difficult issue of needing to fail a student. An accurate performance assessment of these student nurses is a way of safeguarding the professional standards and of the patient’s welfare. For the mentor, a good and accurate decision based on legal and standard policies shall reflect consistency and uphold the dignity of the profession. Standard policies are made in order to cater a quality healthcare in the profession. It is important to assure that the patient’s opinions are heard and taken seriously. Conclusion Roslyn’s final decision made rise to issues of its accuracy and accountability. The good point about Roslyn’s assessment process was that she was able to inform Gina during the midpoint interview on Gina’s achievements and improvements. Her colleagues’ comments and concerns were also laid out during the interview. However, the final document of the assessment decision lacks all the other assessment results such as the colleagues’ comments regarding Gina’s performance and level of knowledge. In other terms, Roslyn had the difficulty of giving Gina an impression of a failing grade. Finally, it was not documented in the final decision about Gina’s need to make communication a further area for development. Therefore, the result of Roslyn’s final assessment paper on Gina’s performance did not exhibit enough fairness and accuracy. References Clouder, L. (2002). Key Points and Future Developments in Reflective Practice within the Education of health Professionals. The Development of Critical reflection in health Professions. Learning and Teaching Support Network. p. 102-108 Duffy, K. (2003). Failing students: a qualitative study of factors that influence the decisions regarding assessment of students’ competence in practice. Caledonian Nursing and Midwifery Research Centre School of Nursing, Midwifery and Community Health Glasgow Caledonian University. Great Britain. Department of Health. (2006). Healthcare Professional Regulation: Public Consultation on proposals for change. Newble, D.I. & Jaeger, K. (1983). The effects of assessment and examinations on the learning of medical students. Medical Education. 17, p. 25-31. Nursing and Midwifery Council (2008). Standards to support learning and assessment in practice. 2nd Ed. London Nursing and Midwifery Council (2007). Standards of conduct, performance and ethics for nurses and midwives. London Scouller, K. & Prosser, M. (1994). Students experiences in studying for multiple choice question examinations. Studies in Higher Education. 19, p. 267-279. Staffordshire University. (2011). [Online]. Available from: http://crwnwiki1.staffs.ac.uk/subjectwiki/index.php/Geography. [Accessed: 2 August 2011] Read More