Mentorship and Competence Importance among a Nursing and Midwifery Council's - Essay Example

?Mentorship and Competence Background Ideally, my expectations about the mentorship program I have undergone were quite high. First, that I should beable to gain extensive knowledge about the standards in nursing practice that cover the qualifications to the actual clinical practice. Secondly, I expected to be familiar with the problems that I have to confront in the field, in the context of the actual practice in the UK setting. Then, there is also the objective that I should finally be able to apply best practices learned into my own professional practice and address the possible dilemmas and issues I have been acquainted with in the process. I believed that through the mentoring program, I would have access not only to information but also an update of my skills and a reinforcement of my confidence at work. As I began the mentorship program, I was delighted to find that the learning outcomes were explicitly laid out. It all complemented my own objectives and, in addition, it provided other important aspects especially in those areas that I was not able to identify. Efficacy I would like to say that the mentorship program I have just undertaken is learner-centred, which, in my opinion, was what made it effective. It included many activities and strategies that improved learning and enriched the experience. For instance, I found the incorporation of reflections on prior experience as extremely helpful. Based on this, I took the initiative to write my own journal to chronicle my thoughts and my progress during the entire program. This aspect in the mentoring course allowed me to identify critical incidents, progresses made, future learning needs and analyze them so that I am able to enrich and inform my interactions with my mentors. Interestingly, the whole exercise made me more involved. I think that it added to the motivating factors that diminished my reservations and anxiety about sharing personal thoughts and professional capacities as well as in dealing with getting reviewed by my peers. Through reflections, I was able to do some forward planning to meet the course outcomes. I discovered that I have this capability for self-direction as well. Then I would have to emphasize the importance of the course content. There are two pieces of literature that I have to cite here. The first the Standards to support learning and assessment in practice, a Nursing and Midwifery Council's (NMC) standards for mentors, practice teachers and teachers. The second is Kathleen Duffy's Failing students: a qualitative study of factors that influence the decisions regarding assessment of students' competence in practice. Both of these texts provided important insights on the mentorship experience and objectives. The first contextualized the entire program from the perspective of the mentors whereas Duffy's article explained the program's concern when it comes to the students, which is competence in practice. NMC and Regulations The NMC publication provides several important information. It explained the rationale behind the program by identifying the principles behind its mandate. There was a clear outline of the relationship between the course, the update of skills, best practices and the public good. It cited relevant statutes and regulations that are crucial in thoroughly understanding not just the program but the need for regulatory framework that encompasses it. These information contextualized the whole initiative according to my experience with respect to the community and environment where I would practice my profession. The main content of the NMC publication is the description of requirements and rules that govern the learning and assessments of students as well as the nursing and midwifery practice. For example, there is the equality and diversity requirements, which promote equal opportunity. There are also those concerning post-qualifying programs such as the Specialist Practice (SPQ) and the Modernising Nursing Careers position paper. Collectively, these elements depict a coherent regulatory framework that proved critical in understanding what is expected from the teachers and mentors, and, henceforth, from the students. On Responsibility/Accountability The other text that I have mentioned is the study undertaken by Duffy, which investigated the reasons why students fail in their placements as nurses. The primary reason given is that there is a failure on the part of the mentors that leads to clinical incompetence or, at least, in the manner by which they fail to pass nursing assessments. This is quite interesting for me because the span of time that students spend with mentors are considerably short in comparison to their academic education and yet there is a great responsibility attributed to the mentorship programme. It is as if the course is accountable to most of what the students learned throughout their education and actual practice. So, this study spelled out why mentorship is important for me as a clinical practitioner. Duffy's work referenced much of its content to those regulations prescribed by the NMC. However, the author was able to contextualize the issue into the students' point of view and experiences. What this means is that their findings, regarding students' failures on account of their mentorship are extremely helpful in the manner by which the current and future students could navigate and survive assessments and evaluation of competence. An underlying issue about mentorship and its failures is that it demonstrates the degree of performance of the field itself. It is like when students fail, then mentorship fails. Now, since the mentors are practicing professionals, their culpability in the failure reflects a kind of incapacity of the discipline. If they cannot coach other practitioners well, there is the question of whether they are fit in the first place. A question will persist that would raise the question as to how they have been trained and certified as a nursing professional. It implies an inefficiency on the part of the practitioners, the institutions that trained them and the content of their instruction. Duffy was able to identify ways by which the mentors could rectify the situation. Her solutions based from her research offered interesting propositions that enable me to better understand the dynamics of the system. I came to understand that whatever I learn from the mentorship programme would not only demonstrate my competence but also those who have been part of my theoretical and practical education. So when I fail at some point in the evaluation process, there must be something wrong with how I was trained and educated and the content of the educational instruction. Duffy was able to map out the problems and the failures in the process. With an army of respondents, she was able to identify empirical evidences that demonstrate the instances of failures and their causes. The importance of this dimension to Duffy’s article is the manner by which I become familiar with my role as a student and a practitioner. Also, once I fail on specific areas, I would know where to look and what to change if I want to improve on the mistakes that I made. So, all in all, I came to understand that with the mentorship program, I am being empowered. Here, there is a framework available for me – an opportunity as a matter of fact – to be a qualified nurse and a better clinical practitioner. It is a bridge between the theories I learned at school and the realities of actual practice. Mentors play a crucial role and that I should take advantage of what they have to offer. Conclusion One of the problems about the nursing practice is the failure of practitioners to apply academic knowledge and theories into practice. This is due to ambiguous learning and also to the individual-specific variables such as motivation, commitment, empathy and so forth. The mentorship program was able to address these issues. Although, it is quite short in comparison to the actual nursing academic course, it provided a springboard by which theory can finally meet practice. It is effective because the environment is within a mentoring setting. A peer is present to assist, guide, assess and criticize. Although daunting and a source of concern for many practitioners, the experience is quite crucial. The mentor offer knowledge and experience to define confirm and enhance theories and principles learned at school. I would have to say that the mentorship course prepares us for practice and builds competencies. The emphasis on competencies, particularly, and the highly effective educational framework that underpins the mentorship program offered important tools for practitioners to deliver the kind of skills set and attitudes being required in actual practice. This reminded me of what Janet Snoddon declared in one of her books I have, that competency frameworks "are important in all areas of professional practice and are essential in area where professionals are potentially working in advances practice, providing a clear safety net to ensure practitioners are fit for purpose."1 Clearly, this mentorship program qualifies as one of these critical frameworks and, as cited by this paper, there is a capability to empower practitioners with knowledge, experience, attitude and skills that figure prominently in the manner by which practitioners are assessed, specialize and upgrade skills to become qualified and better nurses. Bibliography Duffy, K., Failing students: a qualitative study of factors that influence the decisions regarding assessment of students’ competence in practice (Glasgow: Caledonian Nursing and Midwifery Research Centre, 2003). Nursing Midwifery Council (NMC)., Standards to Support Learning and Assessment in Practice (London: NMC, 2008). Snoddon, J., Case Management of Long Term Conditions: Principles and Practice for Nurses (Hoboken, NJ: Wiley and Sons, 2010). Read More