Practice learning

The Nursing Associate Electronic Practice Assessment Document (NAPAD) and Electronic Ongoing Achievement Record (e-OAR) are designed to support and guide you towards successfully achieving the criteria set out in the Standards of proficiency for Nursing Associates and Standards for education and training (NMC, 2018).

The NAPAD 1 & 2 and the e-OAR make up a significant part of your overall programme assessment. They will need to be submitted along with your module assessments as stated on the assessment schedule. Continuous assessment is an integral aspect of assessment in practice and you are expected to show evidence of consistent achievement. You are required to engage positively in all learning opportunities, take responsibility for your own learning and access support if required. It is your responsibility to ensure that you arrange your mid-point and final interviews with your Practice Assessor in a timely manner. Dates for completion of your e-OAR are published on the assessment schedules and are detailed within the Practice Learning Process in the NAPAD. Failure to achieve all summative requirements of a practice module will result in an automatic extension of 4 weeks. If summative elements of the practice placement are not met by the assessment date this will result in programme failure.

If you have any concerns regarding your practice you should initially raise these concerns with your Practice Assessor in a timely manner. If the Practice Assessor cannot remedy your concern then they will then escalate this to the Practice Learning Facilitator (PLF) or Practice Education Facilitator (PEF), or your nominated person within the PIVO organisations. You should also alert your Practice Supervisor or Practice Assessor to any reasonable adjustments that may be required to support your learning in practice.

In relation to quality assurance, each student will have a registered Practice Assessor within their base placement and either a registered Practice Assessor or Practice Supervisor in each external practice experience to facilitate learning and to assess your competence against set practice outcomes stated in the Electronic Ongoing Achievement Record (e-OAR).

Practice Assessors (PA) have a key role in assessing and confirming your proficiency and provide assurance of your achievements and competence. This includes facilitating a diverse range of learning opportunities including any reasonable adjustments you may need to get maximum benefit from the placement. The PA will observe you, conduct and record assessments informed by your reflections, feedback from Practice Supervisors and other relevant people to confirm achievement. You are expected to participate in a tripartite meeting with your Practice Assessor and your Academic Assessor within the first 12 weeks of your programme.

Practice Supervisors (PS) play an important role in supporting and guiding you through your learning experiences to ensure safe and effective learning and can assist in any reasonable adjustments that need to be made to your practice. Achievement will be recorded within the e-OAR and NAPAD 1&2. You will liaise with the Academic Assessor scheduling communication at relevant points. The e-OAR will also be available to your Practice Supervisors, Academic Assessors and Personal Supervisors.

During your base placement practice experience you are expected to have protected learning time (PLT) for a total of 720 hours over the course of your programme. This amounts to 120 hours each term. These hours must be recorded within your Nursing Associate Practice Assessment Document (NAPAD) 1 & 2 and verified by your Practice Assessor. During your external practice placements you are expected to have 480 hours over the programme of protected learning time across the lifespan and across a range of settings. These external placements will be identified within your individual allocation plan. These hours must be recorded and verified within your e-OAR.

The activities that are included within protected learning time have been agreed with Trust and PIVO partners. Within your NAPAD there will be a key which lists these different protected learning time activities. You will need to use the key to denote which protected learning time activity was undertaken and the log the hours for that activity.

Protected Learning Time (PLT) is defined as providing and facilitating opportunities for students to practise skills and can include: your Practice Assessor or Supervisor sharing knowledge and effectively demonstrating how to put that knowledge into practice safely; being observed in practice; receiving constructive feedback about your performance; being empowered to take advantage of available resources; learning and CPD opportunities; following a patient pathway across settings; participating in MDT meetings; meeting with your Practice Assessor/ Supervisors; peer discussions; skills practice; ‘spoke’ placements; reflecting upon own learning; or supernumerary time.

Your protected learning time will be monitored and supported by your employer through timely tripartite meetings, monitoring by the programme team and Practice Education Team and escalation to the UoY Nursing Associate Partner Meeting. Additional support mechanisms can be found on the Practice Education Support web page which is available to all provider staff, students and academic staff.