Future Nurse and Midwife

Student supervision and assessment in practice requires that practice supervisors and assessors work together with you as a student to facilitate your learning. This, combined with the input of your academic assessor, will help to ensure a robust assessment process for each part of your programme, and at the point of professional registration.

The assessment process includes your supervision and support in practice and the assessment of your performance based on specific components which have been determined by the Nursing and Midwifery Council. These are outlined as part of this documentation and your practice supervisors and assessors should review this information prior to engaging in the supervision and assessment of your performance in practice. 

There are two components to your assessment

• Platforms and Proficiencies
• Skills and Procedures

Platforms and Proficiencies

These are assessed for every practice learning experience (PLE). There are 7 platforms, each of which has associated proficiencies. As a student you must achieve all proficiencies for each platform during your programme. Each of the platforms are listed below, including the number of proficiencies associated with each. All proficiencies detailed within the ‘Platforms and Proficiencies’ section of the PAD must be achieved. Evidence of this achievement of the proficiencies will be assessed in line with the levels of the participation in care framework. Using the levels of this framework to assess your performance will ensure that this assessment confirms that there has been progression in your performance as you progress through your programme of study.  It is the responsibility of the practice supervisor and practice assessor to discuss your progress together, and with others including consideration of feedback from service users and carers and, through this collaborative dialogue, determine whether or not you have achieved each of the platform proficiencies at the required level of performance. The outcome of this assessment will then be reviewed and confirmed by your academic assessor at the end of each PART:

• Platform 1 - Being an accountable professional
  • 20 proficiencies to be achieved
• Platform 2 – Promoting health and preventing ill health
  • 12 proficiencies to be achieved
• Platform 3 – Assessing needs and planning care
  • 16 proficiencies to be achieved
• Platform 4 – Providing and evaluating care
  • 18 proficiencies to be achieved
• Platform 5 – Leading and managing nursing care and working in teams
  • 12 proficiencies to be achieved
•  Platform 6 – Improving safety and quality of care
  • 12 proficiencies to be achieved
• Platform 7 – Coordinating care
  • 13 proficiencies to be achieved

Assessment of Proficiencies through Participation in Care

The practice assessor will ultimately be responsible for determining the assessment outcome in practice however, this will involve collaborative discussion with others who support and come into contact with you as you progress through each Part of your programme. The participation in care framework below is designed to assist you, and those supporting and assessing you, to identify the level of your performance for each of the proficiencies associated with each of the platforms.

The description of each level of participation, detailed in the diagram above, and explained in more detail below, will help you and your practice supervisor(s)/assessor(s) to understand what is expected of you as a student by the end of each Part of your programme. The explanation below outlines the expected level of performance which must be demonstrated by the end of each Part, as well as the level of assistance you can expect to receive from your practice supervisor(s)/assessor;

     •    Participation in Care – Explanation of Levels of Participation

• Dependent – Minimal standard of participation in care to be achieved by the end of Part 1 of nursing students’ programme. 
  • You will be working closely with your practice supervisor who will direct and guide you. Through this guided participation in care, you will be able to demonstrate delivery of safe, effective, person-centred care in a professional manner using appropriate nursing skills. You will also demonstrate a professionalism in your attitudes and values as well as a positive attitude to own learning
• Developing Independence – Minimum standard of participation in care to be achieved by the end of Part 2 of nursing students’ programme
  • You will be developing independence and your practice supervisor will offer guidance and support when required.  You will actively participate in care with this guidance and will demonstrate increasing confidence and competence. You will also demonstrate an understanding of professional roles and responsibilities and will maximise opportunities to extend your own knowledge
• Independent – Minimum standard of participation in care to be achieved by the end of Part 3 of nursing students’ programme
  • You will be working independently and your practice supervisor will offer a more indirect form of supervision.  You will demonstrate the ability to lead and coordinate care, and the ability to act as an accountable and responsive practitioner, demonstrating a comprehensive knowledge base that informs safe and effective practice. You will also assume responsibility for your own learning, as well as the learning of others

*Adapted with permission from: Pan London Practice Learning Group (2019). Pan London Practice Assessment Document 2.0 available from: www.plplg.uk  

     •     Annexes A and B: Skills and Procedures 

In addition to the platforms and proficiencies, detailed above, there are also skills and procedures. These skills and procedures must be safely demonstrated before being confirmed by your practice supervisor/practice assessor. This will mostly take place in the practice environment however, in exceptional circumstances for example, if it is not possible to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation in practice, you may be able to achieve these through simulation. Clinical skills and procedures practiced and safely demonstrated in both practice and simulation will be documented and signed for within the PAD as part of the ‘Skills and Procedures’ section.

Your practice supervisor and practice assessor must discuss your progress and, through this collaborative dialogue, and also through discussion with others, determine whether or not you have safely demonstrated both the skills and procedures. The sets of skills and procedures identified by NMC as having to be safely demonstrated prior to entry to the NMC register are detailed below:

     1      Communication and relationship management skills

1.1    Skill Set 1 – Underpinning communication skills for assessing, planning, providing and managing best practice, evidence-based nursing care

1.1.5 12 skills 

1.2    Skill Set 2 – Evidence-based, best practice approaches to communication for supporting people of all ages, their families and carers in preventing ill health and in managing their care

1.2.5 9 skills 

1.3    Skill Set 3 – Evidence-based, best practice communication skills and approaches for providing therapeutic interventions

1.3.5 9 skills 

1.4 Skill Set 4 – Evidence-based, best practice communication skills and approaches for working with people in professional teams

1.4.5 11 skills 

     2       Nursing Procedures

2.1 Procedure Set 1 – Procedures for assessing people’s needs for person-centred care

2.1.5 26 procedures

                  2.2 Procedure Set 2 – Procedures for the planning, provision and management of person-centred nursing care

2.2.5 90 procedures

Skill and Procedure Achievement 

The Annexe skills and procedures are provided as a list as part of your PAD and you must safely demonstrate each of these to enable your practice supervisor/assessor to sign to confirm that this has taken place. Safely demonstrating skills and procedures will take place throughout each part of your programme and will, more often than not, involve a number of practice supervisors, as well as, potentially, the practice assessor. It is therefore important that at the start of each placement, you review all skills and procedures with your practice supervisor to help you to determine which skills and procedures you could potentially work towards safely demonstrating in each area. Opportunities should be noted within the Learning Development Plan at the start of your PLE. Any skill or procedure that has been safely demonstrated must continue to be demonstrated safely whenever the opportunity arises in practice.

Your practice supervisors and assessors must not only communicate with one another but must also provide you with frequent feedback on your performance, indicating how you can best improve the safe demonstration of these skills and procedures going forward. Areas of strength and aspects for development should also be discussed and documented at all times to feed forward for each subsequent PLE.