Mentorship and assessment in health and social care settings
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| 3 Tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) | |
| End-of-course assessment | No residential school |
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This course is available for study in the countries shown. Fees may vary by country.
Summary
This interprofessional mentorship course is for practitioners who support and assess learners in practice in health and/or social care settings. It will enable you to become a credible, effective, valued supporter of learning and assessment in practice. You’ll undertake activities to develop mentoring commitment, confidence and competence – drawing directly on your own experience. You’ll need access to an appropriate person to support your course learning in your practice setting. Nurses and midwives seeking NMC recognition as a mentor must have current NMC registration, five days’ practice learning, and the appropriate person must be registered in the same part of the NMC register. This course is NMC approved (2007).
Course content
The course materials use case studies and audio recordings of learners, practitioners and educators to illustrate the role of mentorship in supporting learning and performing assessment in health and social care environments. Toolkits help to enhance your skills and knowledge in your evolving role as a mentor. The learning activities relate the course materials to your practice to further develop understanding of educational issues of mentorship. Online forums provide the opportunity to reflect on your experiences of mentoring and receive peer and tutor support. You will consider the effects of organisational and national policies and standards on mentorship.
The course is structured around 3 study blocks:
Block 1 Getting your Bearings enables you to examine the complexity and context of mentoring in practice. The activities direct you to critically evaluate your environment as a learning environment that supports mentorship. Block 1 explores the perspective of learners and discusses strategies and mentoring practice.
Block 2 Trying Things Out requires you to identify learning needs and develop a plan for your evolving role as a mentor. You will examine facilitation of learning and plan how learners can develop in practice and utilise the portfolio approach to learning. You will explore ‘teachable’, ‘assessable’ and ‘learning’ situations in practice, appropriate for learners.
Block 3 The Bigger Picture directs you to analyse the context and complexity of mentorship from a range of perspectives. This block addresses quality assurance, fitness for practice and assessment as an educo-legal process.
When you have successfully completed the course, you will be able to:
- discuss teaching strategies and methods to facilitate learners to integrate learning from both academic and practice experiences
- apply the principles and methods of assessment to practice-based learning
- evaluate the values and ethical principles that underpin mentorship and assessment in health and social care settings
- critically analyse the practice environment to evaluate the opportunities for, and constraints on, effective support of learning and assessment in practice
- critically examine and plan ‘teachable’, ‘assessable’ and ‘learning’ situations in practice appropriate for individual learners
- analyse how mentorship and assessment are influenced by context
- select and evaluate theoretical concepts and evidence from different sources to present critical discussion, and apply these to mentorship and assessment practice
- develop and apply information literacy and ICT skills to identify, search for, critically evaluate and discuss information in complex contexts
- use a reflective approach to develop your practice through the identification of your learning needs, and evaluation of a personal development plan
- identify and evaluate the sources of support and feedback for mentorship
- critically reflect on establishing effective working relationships in practice to support mentorship
- recognise, record and communicate the skills and knowledge needed to achieve professional growth, personal development and accountability through mentorship and assessment
- engage in and reflect upon evaluation of learning of self, peers and learners to facilitate personal development, and contribute to the development of others.
Vocational relevance
The course emphasises the mentor’s integral and accountable role in the education, supervision and assessment of learners in health and social care settings.
The course materials enable you to critically evaluate mentorship in your practice setting from personal, organisational and practice contexts.
Entry
This is a Level 3 course. Level 3 courses build on study skills and subject knowledge acquired from studies at Levels 1 and 2. Study at Level 2 would put you in a strong position to enjoy the course and rise to its challenges through the study skills you have already developed. Its academic content engages you in your practice. If you have any doubt about the suitability of the course, please contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service.
Preparatory work
You will receive guidance of how to get started online in your first course mailing. This will provide you with information on using your computer for OU study and working with the Computing Guide. For example, it explains how to access and use your course website and online discussion forums. If you have time before the course starts, you can work through this and explore all the online services available to you.
Qualifications
K320 is an optional course in our
It can also count towards most of our other degrees at bachelors level, where it is equally appropriate to a BA or BSc. We advise you to refer to the relevant qualification descriptions for information on the circumstances in which this course can count towards these qualifications because from time to time the structure and requirements may change.
Excluded combinations
Sometimes you will not be able to count a course towards a qualification if you have already taken another course with similar content. To check any excluded combinations relating to this course, visit our excluded combination finder or check with our Student Registration & Enquiry Service before registering.
If you have a disability or additional requirement
Written transcripts of any audio components and Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) versions of printed material are available. Some Adobe PDF components may not be available or fully accessible using a screen reader. Large print versions of the course materials can be provided on request. Other alternative formats of the course materials may be available in the future. Our Services for disabled students website has the latest information about availability.
If you are a new student, or new to courses using a computer or the internet, you will need to inform us of your particular needs as soon as possible, as some of our support services may take several weeks to arrange. Details of how to do this and our range of support services are described in our booklet Meeting Your Needs which you can download or request from our Student Registration & Enquiry Service.
You can also find information about accessible course materials, financial support and the Disabled Students' Allowance, equipment and other services, on our Services for disabled students website. It also includes our contact details for advice and support both before you register and while you are studying.
Course materials
What's included
Course books, other printed materials, audio CD. There are online tutor-group discussion forums where you can discuss course content as well as receive support.
You will have access to a course website through which teaching and Library resources are available. Electronic versions of most of the printed course materials are provided on the course website.
You will need
A CD player.
Computing requirements
This course includes online computer activities – you can access these using a web browser that can play Flash and Shockwave.
You will need internet access and a computer. If you have purchased a new computer since 2002 it should meet your course computing requirements. Check our Technical Requirements section if your computer is older than this or is otherwise unusual.
Teaching and assessment
Support from your tutor
You will have a tutor who marks and comments on your written work and is available online, or by phone, for advice and guidance. Your tutor has a group of about 16 students and participates in online discussion with the group, including online tutorials about course topics and how to study successfully. Contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service if you want to know more about study with The Open University before you register.
Assessment
The assessment details for this course can be found in the facts box above.
You must use the online eTMA system to submit your tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) and the end-of-course assessment (ECA).
Professional recognition
K320 responds to the changing external context of professional standards in mentorship and assessment of learners in health and social care settings. The course is Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) approved and meets the NMC (2006) Standards to support learning and assessment in practice for mentors.
It is the responsibility of nurses and midwives to meet the conditions specified in the summary in order to seek recognition as a mentor.
Students also studied
Students who studied this course also studied at some time:
Future availability
The details given here are for the course that starts in November 2010 and May 2011. We expect it to be available twice a year.
How to register
To register a place on this course return to the top of the page and use the Click to register button. For more information and advice about registration see OU Study Explained.
About this page
An undergraduate course in Health and Social Care.
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