10 Testing times
Matter for discussion submitted by the RCN Practice Education Forum
That this meeting of RCN Congress discusses alternatives to the continuing assessment of pre-registration students
Work led by the RCN Nursing Development Committee.
Discussion at Congress 2008 revealed that the overloading of placement experience with theoretical assignments frequently unrelated to the practice experience was the primary issue, rather than continuous assessment itself - a concern that was supported by both lecturers and mentors. As a result, the RCN Joint Education Forums, in conjunction with the RCN Education Adviser, have been working to address this issue as a priority.
The RCN has participated in policy seminars on the Future nurse programme. To support the modernisation of nursing curricula, the joint RCN education forums are currently collating evidence to inform the NMC review of pre-registration education - including preceptorship. The RCN Education Advisor is ensuring messages and output from a variety of RCN initiatives - for example, identifying superfluous areas of assessment and examination which need removing from the curriculum - are heard by the NMC review.
The RCN Practice Education Forum has updated its literature review on dyslexia to include dyscalcula and dyspraxia, and this will be used to inform members at a Congress 2009 fringe event and debate. RCN Education Forum members have also focused on issues relating to numeracy and patient safety, and will be working with the RCN Research Society at Congress 2009 to enable members to contribute to development in this area.
The RCN Primary Care Educators' Forum is exploring the increased practice-focused learning - including reviewing more relevant forms of assessment - that will be required as patient care is relocated from acute to community settings. The crediting of vocational courses and the evaluation of simulated learning is also being reviewed.
The RCN joint education forums are continuing to work towards resolving student stress caused by over assessment and the heavy timetables found in nursing programmes, coupled with the 2,300 hours of practice requirement. This will be especially relevant as the examination/assessment of Essential skills clusters is introduced by the NMC.
An additional but related issue has also emerged; the proliferation of written work has generated a heavy marking and grading workload for university staff responsible for nursing students. Similarly, there is continuous stress on mentors who support and assess our students in practice. It is anticipated that these issues will form part of the future debate in this area.