General
Model of practice experience
The Department of Health Sciences will schedule your practice experiences so that you can apply your theoretical learning in appropriate practice settings, using a Base and Spoke model of practice experience. For each module you will be allocated to a base and spoke practice area. You will also have the opportunity (where available) to access static spokes with clinical areas and teams linked to your allocated base and spoke placements.
The base and spoke model
The Knowledge Applied to Nursing Practice (KANP) modules are normally organised using a Base and Spoke model.
Base placements – Your base placement will always be allocated in your respective Field of Practice (FoP). This is also where your practice will be directly overseen by your Practice Assessor. Within Stages One, Two and Three of the programme you will begin and end your practice experiences in your base area. This model allows your Practice Assessor (and Academic Assessor) to monitor your progress and to make decisions related to your summative assessment.
Allocated Spoke placements – During Stages One, Two and Three of the programme you will rotate through allocated spoke placements where your progress will be monitored by named Practice Supervisors. Spoke placements are planned to offer you a range of experiences and develop your knowledge and understanding. Spoke placements will offer you a range of experiences to develop your knowledge and transferable skills, which can be in any field of practice.
Year 1: Field specific base, allocated spokes within any FoP
Year 2: Field specific base, allocated spokes within any FoP
Year 3: Field specific base, allocated spokes within any FoP
Year 4: Specility-focused, related to academic theme (e.g. research, leadership/management, clinical specialism)
Static Spokes – During base and spoke placements you, your Practice Assessor and Practice Supervisors may identify specific areas or experiences which could enhance your learning and understanding of the patient journey. Visits normally last between one and three days and must be negotiated in advance. The learning must be identified in advance, documented in your E-OAR (MYEPAD) and achieved with the support of the named Practice Supervisor. Achievements related to your learning outcomes must be recorded, as appropriate, in your E-OAR (MYEPAD) and verified by a Practice Assessor or Practice Supervisor. Your Practice hours must be recorded on POW (Placements on the Web) via Timesheets (TMS) and verified by a Practice Assessor or Practice Supervisor.
Assessment & supervision in practice
In accordance with the Standards for Student Supervision and Assessment (NMC 2023), the aim of this practice experience model is to ensure you have support and guidance which empowers you to own and direct your learning. We adopt a team approach to practice learning, in which you are the key member. The following structure is in place to support you; this is your learning experience, and you will gain the most by engaging and negotiating with all of the people outlined below.
You will undertake planned periods of supervised and assessed practice over the duration of your programme. During each stage, you must complete the formative and summative assessments in order to progress on your programme.
Academic assessor
Your Personal Supervisor will also cover the role of your Academic Assessor for stage 1 and 3 of the programme. A named Academic Assessor will be allocated to you by the Department of Health Sciences for stage 2 and 4 of the programme, as you are unable to have the same Academic Assessor for two successive years. This role is essential to ensure the assessment processes are comprehensive and fair. The Academic Assessor will ensure that learning and attainment in practice are clearly relevant to your theoretical learning, to support you to progress and meet programme requirements.
You will meet with your Academic Assessor prior to commencing your practice experience, to identify how you might apply theoretical learning to your practice areas. This meeting will be documented in the Academic Assessor interview section of your MYEPAD. which will be accessible to your Practice Assessor. Your Academic Assessor may also hold telephone and/or face to face discussions with your Practice Assessor, as required, to support your progression and achievement of summative practice assessments and proficiencies.
Practice assessor
During each stage, you will have a named Practice Assessor, who will be appropriately prepared to support you. The Practice Assessor will have undertaken preparation and regular updating to facilitate student learning, supervise practice and assess a student’s attainment, related to the stated learning outcomes of the programme.
The practice area will identify your Practice Assessor for you. Your Practice Assessor will meet with you at regular intervals throughout your base placement to discuss specific learning goals and how these may be achieved over your placement and stage. You will be assessed formally by your Practice Assessor at specific points, which are identified in your E-OAR (MYEPAD).
Your Practice Assessor will also liaise with your Academic Assessor with regard to your academic and clinical progress to:
identify any areas of concern, with which you may require support
ensure a fully informed and balanced judgement is made at the assessment points
ensure that university and professional processes have been adhered to
Practice supervisor
In addition to your Practice Assessor, you will spend time with a number of nominated Practice Supervisors, normally identified by the practice areas. These Supervisors will be registered practitioners from nursing and allied health professions, who will support your learning in relation to agreed outcomes. Practice Supervisors will have undertaken preparation and regular updating in coaching and facilitating learning of others. Practice Supervisors will document specific skills and outcomes you have been exposed to and will provide feedback to the Practice Assessor via the E-OAR (MYEPAD); these will contribute to your Practice Assessor’s summative practice assessment decisions.
During your base and spoke placements, students may also spend time with non-registered professionals i.e phlebotomists or care support workers. Students will also be required to obtain feedback from these professionals on their learning experiences and professional values, which may also contribute to their E-OAR (MYEPAD).
Practice Learning Link: PLL team
The Practice Learning Links (PLL) are dedicated to providing you with additional support whilst you are in practice. These lecturers are available through a group email (dohs-pll@york.ac.uk) and are able to respond to student requests at short notice (within usual working hours). They also hold regular remote drop-in sessions during your placement experiences, and can offer advice and support on a wide range of practice and programme related issues. Please contact them in the first instance with any practice related questions and, if they are unable to resolve your query, they will refer you accordingly.
Clinical teaching fellows
Our Clinical Teaching Fellows hold joint appointments between the university and local practice partners. Their role is to support pre-registration nursing students in both academic and clinical environments.
Completion of your E-OAR (MYEPAD) is an essential requirement of your programme and it is your responsibility to ensure that the necessary Practice Assessment Documentation is completed in a timely manner, to enable you to progress. The dates for completion of your Electronic Ongoing Achievement Record are published on the Assessment Schedules. Practice modules are non-reassessable. You are required to pass all summatively assessed elements of the practice module. Where summatively assessed elements of the practice module are incomplete/failed, you will be required to complete a 4-week action plan in either the first 4 weeks of the subsequent placement or during a 4-week ‘retrieval placement’ at the end of each Stage, depending on the specific practice module concerned. Students will be unable to progress to the next year of their programme, or to registration, without meeting all of the stage specific practice assessments outlined in the E-OAR (MYEPAD) within the assessment period.
Travel to placement costs
The Student Services team will provide you with full information and guidance on travel to placement costs.
Practice allocations
All practice learning areas are subject to educational audit to ensure they provide an environment that supports your achievement of the programme learning outcomes.
The Department has a team of staff dedicated to practice allocation. For each experience they consider a number of complex factors, of which the most important is to support you to meet the programme learning outcomes. The equity of travel for all students is also taken into account. Please note that no changes will be possible unless there are exceptional circumstances. If there are health related reasons why you should/should not be allocated to a placement area then you should raise this with your Personal Supervisor with a view to OH referral and guidance. If you believe that there are exceptional reasons why you should not be allocated to a specific practice area (and where OH guidance is not already in place) you will be invited to complete a placement change request form before the start of that placement. We will endeavour to offer you alternative allocations for reasons of health or exceptional circumstances, however, on occasion, where there are no other reasonable placement options, it might be necessary to recommend leave of absence.
More information about the allocation of practice experiences is available on the Practice Education Support webpages.
Elective practice experience
Normally students will undertake an elective practice experience during Stage 3 (in replacement of a 3 week spoke experience within KANP 5 or 6). This must be within the placement circuit of the University. Whilst we will endeavour to provide students with their chosen elective experience, allocation of your preferred practice experience will be dependent on placement capacity.
Professional indemnity insurance
For pre-registration programmes it is a condition of re-enrolment that the student agrees to maintain Professional Indemnity Insurance. When working on placement for a healthcare organisation, arranged through a University, students will generally be covered by the organisation’s indemnity arrangements. However, in some of the smaller placement providers or in any elective experience, further cover may be required. This cover can be obtained either through membership of a professional union or from a personal broker. If you choose to join a professional union, please ensure that cover is provided. Examples of professional unions our students have joined are RCN and Unison. Please note exclusions may apply.
If you indicate at re-enrolment that you do not have professional indemnity insurance your supervisor will discuss this with you.