Accountability and Assessment in Nursing Mentorship

responsibility and Assessment in c atomic number 18 for MentorshipIntroductionThe treat midwifery Council (NMC) (2008a, p.23) decl argons in its Standards to Support Learning and Assessment in lend championself that a instruct is a mandatory requirement for pre- exclusivelyowance nursing scholars. This scarcely means that savant suck ups must be transcendd by toy with wise mans. The violet College of concur (2009, p.3) declares that the signifi dismissce of the role of a wise man and the reference of the mentorship offered in charge understructurenot be over-emphasised. The NMC (2008a, p.23) defines a mentor as a registrant who, following successful completion of an NMC approved mentor preparation curriculum or comparable preparation that has been accredited by an AEI (approved educational institution) as meeting the NMC mentor requirements has achieved the acquaintance, skills and competence required to meet the defined outcomes. The NMC (2008a, p.13) as w ell as provides for eight domains in the framework to support acquirement and appraisal of bookmans in be go for. In essence, this means that in exhibition to become an effective mentor, a support must be able to accomplish these eight domains. These domains are establishing effective working relationships, facilitation of conducting, ratement and business, evaluation of tuition, creating an environment for learning, context of practice, evidence-based practice and leadership (NMC 2008a, p.13).This essay result explore whizz of the eight domains, specifically the domain of accountability and discernment in mentorship. This will be do in relation to mentoring both stolon-year adult emergence nursing students placed in the Dermatology Department. Before proceeding either further, it is imperative to stir that the NMC (2008b, p.3) declares the involve to respect peoples right to confidentiality. In deference with this, the real identities of the student-mentees wil l be kept anonymous.Main BodyAccountability is essential in the lord practice of nursing (NMC 2010, n.p.). A writings review in defining professional nursing accountability conducted by Krautscheid (2012, p.45) revealed that accountability is usually linked with responsibility especially the responsibility for unmatchables own actions and behaviours related to the practice of wholenesss profession. The professional accountability of a nurse is expressed by no slight than the Nursing obstetrics Council in its Code for Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics. To be specific, the NMC (2008b, p.2) states that as a professional, a nurse is personally accountable for actions and omissions d matchless in practice and must al styluss be able to justify ones decisions. The accountability of a nurse as a mentor is as well as grounded on the same NMC Code. The NMC (2008b, p.5) states that a nurse must urge on students and otherwises to develop their competence. This specific prov ision take only requires a nurse vie the role of a mentor to be accountable for the learning of students during practice transcriptions. In the nerve of the 2 first year adult branch nursing students, it is safe to declare that a mentor is accountable for the occur learning experience of the students while in the arrangement.To effectively mentor the deuce students, it is necessary to first establish a lordly mentoring relationship with them. This is because a positive mentor-mentee relationship can help make the mentor and the mentee see more comfortable with each other and this facilitates the flat interaction and communicating between them. Gopee (2011, p.28) supports this when he declared that a mentor and his or her mentee are initially strangers to each other and so they must develop vibrancy and cultivate a positive working relationship in pasture for the mentorship to really work.A practice spot is where students begin to apply their knowledge and practice skil ls in order to achieve the required competence for registration (RCN 2006, p.1). The need for a strong and positive mentoring relationship is crucial in particular because clinical placements can be a daunting environment for the students. This is particularly true during the first few days of the placement. A clinical placement can pose a great challenge for students such as during a busy day and the ward or department is inadequate (Levett-Jones and Bourgeois 2011, p.227). It is therefore critical for the mentor to initiate a neighborly only professional approach when interacting with the students in order to help them touch at ease in the clinical environment of the placement. wiz way by which this can be done is for the mentor to conduct an druthers wherein the students are made familiar with the different areas of the Dermatology Department and are introduced to the entire health care staff working there. Beskine (2009, cited in Walsh 2010, p.23) state that an orientat ion is the door to a successful placement. Walsh (2010, p.23) suggests that an initial orientation is a vital part of helping a student get off on the right foot and make the most of their placement. Walsh (2010, p.23) further relates that one outline for the mentor to accomplish this is by sharing with the students information about ones personal experiences as a student and ones expectations as a mentor. This strategy can be made courtly by providing an information or welcome pack. Typical contents for a welcome pack include a welcome letter supporting the student to visit the placement prior to that start of the actual placement, the lieu of the placement, a list of learning opportunities and learning outcomes, the expected roles and responsibilities of the students, a rob code or guidelines on what to wear and the shift hours (Stuart 2013, p.157). It should contain a description of the various areas deep down the ward or department and a list of the names of personnel work ing within the placement (Bailey-McHale and stag 2013, p.129).The importance of do the ii students feel welcome in the placement is actually a simple but effective means of exhibit ones accountability as the mentor for the students. This is because it is clear that a mentor is accountable for the total learning experience of his or her students and the first step to en real the learning of students begins with making the students familiar and comfortable within the learning environment. This should then be followed by conducting an initial sound judgement of the learning inescapably of the students related to the area of the placement. A mentor is responsible for making initial interviews with students to assess their learning needs and to develop a image on how to address these needs (RCN 2006, p.6). Naturally, the interview will be smooth sailing if the mentor is successful in building a positive mentoring relationship with the students. In interviewing the both students in the Dermatology Department, it is serious to moot into precondition the preferred learning styles of the students. In essence, this means that along with identifying the learning needs of the students, it is also vital to identify how they can learn outdo from the placement. The lofty College of Nursing (2006, p.6) states that a mentors responsibility includes being approachable, substantiative and being aware of how students learn best. there are many theories and models that can be adopted to label the preferred learning styles of students. An example of this that whitethorn be use in the both students is the dear and Mumford learning styles model. The Honey and Mumford model identifies four types of learners namely activists, reflecting telescopes, theorists and pragmatists. An activist learner is a quick learner and prefers to learn by trial and error (Temple 2012, p.75). A reflector is someone who prefers to be thoroughly informed out front acting on a situation (Te mple 2012, p.75). A theorist is someone who utilises theories to make sure that a particular chthoniantaking makes sense (Temple 2012, p.75). A pragmatist is someone who learns best by observing a demonstration from an expert (Temple 2012, p.75). In the pillow slip of the two students placed in the Dermatology Department, both charter been determine to be pragmatists and so actual article of belief of the skill of bandaging was done finished demonstrations which the students carefully observed. A simulation strategy was also used wherein the two students were given the opportunity to practice their bandaging skills onto a mannequin before they were plyed to perform the skill onto real patients while under supervision.In exploitation the demonstration and simulation strategies, it is crucial for a mentor to also take into consideration the internal and external factors that affect student learning. This can be further identified by using the SWOT (strength, weaknesses, opport unities, threats) analysis. The SWOT Analysis is a useful tool to help mentors identify factors that can both improve or hinder their mentoring skills (Murray and Rosen 2010, p.103). The strengths and weaknesses are the internal factors that affect the competency of mentoring while the opportunities and threats are the external factors (Murray and Rosen 2010, p.103). In the font of the two students, one prevailing strength that has been identified is their genuine eagerness to really learn while in the placement. For the mentor, one strength is the control condition of the nursing skills that need to be taught to the students. One weakness of the students was their initial hesitation to interact with the mentor. One weakness of the mentor is the initial uncertainty on how to begin interaction with the students. One opportunity is the presence of diverse learning opportunities in the placement while one prevailing threat is the very hectic catalogue of the department which caus es frequent interruptions during actual teaching sessions.In teaching the two students about correct bandaging, it is also definitive to adopt the concept of andragogy. To only when put it, andragogy refers to adult learning which is in contrast to pedagogy which is all about child learning (Walsh 2010, p.82). The concept of andragogy implies that adults prefer to take an active role while children are passive learners and therefore leave everything to the discernment of the teacher or mentor (Kinnell and Hughes 2010, p.60). Base on these premises, teaching the two students who are adult learners will require the mentor to actively sample the students input. This means that the mentor should not on his/her own decide on what and how to teach the things which the students need to learn in the placement. The mentor should brainstorm with the students on how the students learning needs can be best met. This will allow the students to have a more active role in formulation their ow n learning during placement.There is also the need to consider the on-line(prenominal) level of aptitude of the students in relation to the skills that will be taught to them. In this case, the Benners Skills Acquisition Model will be helpful. Stuart (2013, p.126) states that a student or even a newly qualified nurse will have to pass the five stages of nursing competence as identified in Benners Model. The model classifies learners into five stages namely novice, communicated beginner, competent, well(p) and expert. It is safe to deduce that the two students being mentored are still under the novice stage hence, it is vital for the mentor to create teaching strategies that would check up on their current level of knowledge and skills. For instance, it would be un seemly to teach the students advance skills on four layer compression bandaging without first teaching them the basic principles of bandaging.Blooms Taxonomy should also be adopted by a mentor to enhance teaching sessi ons. Cannon and Boswell (2012, p.140) state that Blooms Taxonomy is an important learning theory as it distinguishes learning into three domains namely affective, cognitive and psychomotor. Teaching correct bandaging skills naturally involves the cognitive domain since it requires mastery of travel or procedures. It also involves the psychomotor domain because it entails using instruments and tools. It also incorporates the affective domain because it requires positive and encouraging feelings and emotions which help motivate a student to do the procedure correctly.It is also important for a mentor to make the learning objectives SMART. This means that the objectives are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-bounded. In the case of the two students, this has been achieved since the objective involves making the student understand and perform the steps of bandaging. This makes the objective specific. This will be done under supervision with the insurance policy on ba ndaging as the criteria. This makes it measurable and realistic. The said objective is to be accomplished at the end of the placement. This makes it time-bounded.A mentors accountability naturally includes assessing the students performance. Aston and Hallam (2011, p.60) relate that assessing students learning while they are under ones mentorship is one of the important role of a nurse mentor. This is grounded on the Nursing Midwifery Council (2008a, p.16) declaring that students must be supported and assessed by mentors. Mentors are responsible for assessing the total performance of students including their knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviours (NMC 2008a, p.23).It is vital to relate that there are basically two types of assessment namely formative and summative assessment. pliant assessment happens during the consort of the placement wherein it is done on a invariable basis to gauge how much progress a student has reached without inevitably grading such progress (Kilgal lon and Thompson 2012, p.153). It typically involves the big(p) of feedback in order for the student to further improve (Kilgallon and Thompson 2012, p.153). This kind of assessment is done in order to prepare the student for the final assessment which is the summative assessment. summative assessment marks the end of the mentorship and involves the actual grading of the students final performance (Kilgallon and Thompson 2012, p.154).It is essential to point out that the giving of feedbacks is an important component of effective student assessment. Kinnell and Hughes (2010, p.96) relate that feedback must be plastic and not destructive. It must highlight the strengths as well as the weaknesses of the student (Kinnell and Hughes 2010, p.96). Kinnell and Hughes (2010, p.96) further relate that it must emphasise areas for improvements and incorporate praises get for the students achievements. Constructive feedbacks given by mentors and the clinical staff can help the student grow an d develop as a prospective professional (Levett-Jones and Bourgeois 2011, p.48). One strategy for the effective giving of feedback is to use a strategy called feedback sandwich. This involves sandwiching a negative feedback between two positive feedbacks to avoid hurting the students feelings and self-esteem (Elcock and Sharples 2011, n.p.).There are several methods and strategies by which a mentor can effectively assess a students competence. The Royal College of Nursing (2009, p.8) states that assessment can be done through direct posting, simulation, objective organise clinical examinations or OSCE, testimony of others, student self-assessment, written portfolio evidence, active participation, interactional reflective discussion, learning contracts, guided strike, interviews, patient comments, peer evaluation, collection of data, case studies and team mentorships.In the case of the two students, one was assessed through direct observation and questioning while the other was assessed through direct observation and through written reflection. This was in consideration of the fact that one student has a prior degree in English literature, while the other one was awaiting a dyslexia test hence, it would be unfair for both of them to be assessed through written reflection.In assessing student performance, the mentors accountability includes making sure that all the possible opportunities for learning has been exhausted and that the students have been given ample time to master the skills that will be assessed from them. This is because it would be unfair for the students to be assessed for skills which were never taught to them or where they were never given a chance to improve on it. This points to the accountability of the mentor to the students he or she is mentoring. There is also the accountability of the mentor towards the general public. This accountability signifies that ultimately the mentors role in guiding students is to ensure that future gener ations of nurses are truly competent to serve the general healthcare consumers. This suggests that if after giving opportunities to improve, the student has failed to show competence, then the mentor must not hesitate to give a failing mark. On the other hand, a study conducted by Duffy (2004, n.p.) revealed that failing students is a difficult thing to do for majority of mentors and this is because it raises emotional issues for the mentor. The emotional dilemma of failing a study is carried by mentors and sometimes this emotional stress overcomes the need to practice a fair and objective mentoring. It is logical to assume that sometimes the decision to either pass or fail students is influenced by the personal sentiments of the mentor towards the students. This is something that should be avoided because it threatens the very essence of why there is a need to assess students under mentorship. A good mentor is someone who knows when to empathise with students and when to divert t hemselves in order to objectively assess a students performance therefore, it is important for a mentor to learn when to empathise and when to be objective. In essence, this means that in assessing the final performance of the two students in the Dermatology Department, it is important for the mentor to be objective and set aside any personal friendly relations which he or she may have established during the course of the mentorship.ConclusionAccountability and assessment in mentorship in this case involves the responsibility of the mentor to ensure the learning of the two students in the Dermatology Department. Being accountable for their learning starts with establishing a positive mentoring relationship with them. This can be accomplished by using a friendly but professional approach. An orientation can help the mentor inform the students on what to expect from the placement. It is important to assess the students learning needs and learning styles by using different theories and models. This is important in order to maximise their learning in the placement. Using demonstration and simulation are only two of the many teaching strategies that may be used to effectively mentor students and the choice of strategy depends on the kind of learner a student is. Assessment is another important role of a mentor. This can either be formative or summative assessment. Assessment should be fair and objective. A mentors personal friendship built during the course of the mentoring relationship should never hinder objective assessment of students performance.ReferencesAston, L. and Hallam, P. (2011). Successful mentoring in nursing. Exeter Learning Matters Ltd.Bailey-McHale, J. and Hart, D.M. (2013). 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