Collaboration Between Education Institution And Clinical Placement Provider : Clinical Nursing Essay, KCL, Singapore

Learning Outcomes
By the end of this session, you will:

Understand the requirements for your summative assessment

Be prepared for submitting the formative element of the assessment

Start being more familiar with the Singapore Standards for clinical nursing

Collaboration Between Education Institution And Clinical
Placement Provider

The Education Institution and Clinical Placement Provider are jointly accountable for providing clinical placements that achieve the goals and outcomes of the nursing education program.

Criteria

1.1 The Education Institution is responsible to seek out appropriate Clinical Placement Provider(s) that meets the clinical education outcomes of their programs.

1.2 The Education Institution has a formal and written agreement with the Clinical Placement Provider(s).

1.3 The Education Institution and Clinical Placement Provider are responsible to ensure and maintain standards of clinical nursing education.

1.4 The Education Institution and Clinical Placement Provider shall apply to the Singapore Nursing Board (SNB) for accreditation of their clinical area(s) for clinical nursing education.

1.5 The Clinical Placement Provider shall be responsible to apply for reaccreditation of their clinical area(s) every three (3) to five (5) years. This shall be done at least 6 months before the expiry of the accreditation
period.

1.6 Both Education Institution and Clinical Placement Provider have policies and procedures that incorporate best practice/quality assurance statement(s) to support students’ clinical learning.

Standard Two: Learning Environment

The Clinical Placement Provider is responsible for setting up a favorable learning environment; introduce best practices in clinical education to achieve students’ clinical learning outcomes.

Criteria

2.1. The Clinical Placement Provider shall assign Clinical Preceptors to supervise, guide and assess student’s performance.

2.2. The student is orientated to the healthcare facility on the first day of clinical placement.

2.3. The Clinical Placement Provider shall support and embrace/promote:
i) the provision of a learning environment that facilitates integration of theory into practice; and
ii) nursing practice that adheres to SNB Standards of Nursing Practice.

2.4. Students will have access to learning resources such as relevant books, journals, e-learning facilities, and equipment.

2.5. The number of students assigned in each clinical area shall be:

i) one student to at least 2 beds for inpatient acute/intermediate/ long term care; and

ii) two students to 1 client for independent services such as home nursing and counseling service.

The number of students assigned to each clinical area shall be determined collaboratively by both education institution and clinical practice placement provider, to achieve optimal learning outcomes for students.

Standard Three: Clinical Learning

The Education Institution and Clinical Placement Provider are accountable for facilitating students’ clinical learning and outcomes appropriate to their level of competency.

Criteria

3.1 The student is allocated with an appropriate patient care workload and is able to demonstrate expected levels of competencies and management skills.

3.2 The clinical learning practicum shall include:

i) setting achievable learning outcomes at the beginning of the clinical placement;
ii) opportunities to experience holistic patient care at their level of training; and

iii) opportunities to demonstrate and be assessed on nursing competencies when caring for patients.

3.3 The student is given opportunities to:
i) set their learning objectives; and
ii) reflect on their clinical learning and evaluate whether their learning objectives have been achieved.

Standard Four: Role Of Clinical Instructors And Clinical Preceptors

The Education Institution and Clinical Placement Provider are accountable for allocating Clinical Instructors and Clinical Preceptors to optimize students’ learning during clinical practicum.

Criteria

4.1. The Clinical Instructor is from the Education Institution and/or Clinical Placement Provider. He/she provides guidance, supervision assessment, and support for a group of students during their clinical placement period.

4.2. The Clinical Instructor (CI):
i) ensures that the clinical practicum facilitates the achievement of the stipulated clinical learning outcomes;

ii) ensures that the clinical placement promotes the integration of theory to practice;

iii) provides regular feedback to the Clinical Placement Provider to improve the quality of students’ clinical experiences; and

iv) conducts a clinical assessment of students.

4.3. The Clinical Instructor is a Registered Nurse/Midwife:
i) with a minimum of 3 years clinical experience;

ii) has recognized skills in the area of practice;

iii) has an interest in teaching & learning and have successfully completed a Clinical Instructor (CI) and/or teaching and assessing course facilitated by healthcare institutions and/or the Specialist Diploma in Clinical Education; and

iv) CIs supervising post-registration specialty nursing courses must have an Advanced Diploma and/or its equivalent in the area of related practice and have a minimum of 2 years experience in the area of specialty.

Standard Five:  Assessment And Evaluation

The Clinical Instructor and Clinical Preceptor are responsible to perform a formative and summative assessment of the students and providing feedback on their clinical performance. Both Clinical Placement Coordinator and Clinical Programme Coordinator is jointly responsible to ensure that formative and summative assessments are done and feedback given to students.

Criteria

5.1. Clinical assessments are conducted at:
i) mid-point during the placement period with feedback given for improvements (formative), and
ii) the end of the placement period (summative).

5.2. Specific feedback on students’ performances is given regularly and in a timely manner to reinforce good performances and to encourage and respect students’ efforts.

5.3. Clinical Instructors and Clinical Preceptors conduct debriefing sessions to facilitate students’ reflection of their practice and evaluation of their clinical performance.

5.4. Clinical Preceptors and Clinical Instructors communicate and collaborate as a team to facilitate student assessments and evaluate the effectiveness of the overall clinical education.

5.5. The evaluation of the clinical placement is:
i) obtained from students and Clinical Preceptors at the completion of each clinical placement;

ii) facilitated by the Clinical Instructor in collaboration with the Clinical Placement Coordinator to evaluate the effectiveness of clinical learning, and

iii) used by the Clinical Placement Provider and Education Institutions to make improvements to the clinical learning experience and adopt best practices.