Mentorship and assessment in health and social care settings
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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 an assessor of achievement 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 practitioner to support your learning in practice.
Allied Health Professionals registered with the Health Professions Council (HPC) will find this course particularly useful with its focus on professional portfolio development. This course is Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) approved (2007) and will be subject to NMC reapproval in 2012.
Fees 2012
See fees and funding options for study from September 2012.
Course facts
An undergraduate course in Health and Social Care.
| About this course: | |
|---|---|
| Course code | K320 |
| Credits | 30 |
| OU Level | 3 |
| SCQF level | 10 |
| FHEQ level | 6 |
| Course work includes: |
|---|
| 2 Tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) |
| End-of-module assessment |
| No residential school |
Register for the course
This course is available for study in the countries shown. Fees and financial support may vary by country.
What you will study
The study 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 you to enhance your skills and knowledge in your evolving role as a mentor.
The learning activities relate the study materials to your practice to further develop understanding of educational issues of mentorship and experience of mentoring practice. The majority of the learning activities are to be completed in practice so you need to ensure you have access to students and/or colleagues who are in a learning situation. It is these practice activities that make up the five days protected learning time, these are clearly marked in the module material.
Online forums provide the opportunity to reflect on your experiences of mentoring and receive peer and tutor support. You will consider the effects of national and organisational policies and critically analyse standards underpinning mentoring practice.
The course is structured around three 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 workplace as a learning environment that supports mentorship. It explores mentorship from the perspective of learners and discusses strategies to promote effective mentoring practice.
Block 2 Trying Things Out requires you to identify your mentorship learning needs and then put in place a development plan to direct your individual progress through the course. 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.
You will learn
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
- nurses and midwives registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) will have the opportunity to rehearse supervised sign-off mentor skills on two occasions as per the NMC (2010) circular. The final supervised sign-off must be in practice with a real student on an NMC approved programme.
To ensure relevant statutory and professional body standards for mentorship and practice-based learning are addressed, this course has been mapped against the:
- NMC’s Standards to support learning and assessment in practice (2008) for mentors.
- College of Operating Department Practitioner ‘Standards, guidance and recommendations for mentors and practice placements’ (2009).
The K320 team monitor the external environment for emerging educo-legal requirements to ensure the module remains current.
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 study 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.
The Open University requires that NMC nurses or midwives seeking entry to their local mentor database/register demonstrate compliance with the NMC’s standards for ‘Supporting Learning and Assessment in Practice’ (SLAiP) (2008) by identifying themselves and stating which part of the register they are on and confirming that they have:
- been NMC registrants for a minimum of one year
- access to an NMC registrant who is a qualified mentor on the same part of the register and who will support their learning in practice.
- access to learners within an audited environment undertaking NMC approved programmes.
- shared the Study Guide and Assessment Guide with the qualified mentor who will support them.
Additional requirements for midwives only
Midwives undertaking mentor preparation courses are required to achieve sign-off mentor status by the end of the course. Therefore the following additional confirmation is required. Midwives entering K320 must also confirm that they will have the opportunity to undertake signing-off competencies on three occasions with a student or students undertaking a NMC approved programme.
NMC registrants entering K320 will be asked to complete and return a form detailing how they demonstrate compliance with the NMC standards on commencement of the course.
During the course NMC nurses and midwives must complete five days’ protected learning negotiated with their employer. This is achieved through completion of the module activities as indicated in the module materials. On completion of this course nurses and midwives would be required to also comply with any local mentor arrangements including demonstrating to your employer that you have met the entry requirements for K320 as above.
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 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.
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. Other alternative formats of the study 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 publication Meeting Your Needs.
You can also find information about accessible study 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.
Study materials
What's included
Course books, other printed materials, audio CD. There are online tutor-group discussion forums where you can discuss course content and your student mentoring experiences as well as receive support.
You will have access to a website through which teaching and Library resources are available. Electronic versions of most of the printed study materials are also provided on the 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 2005 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 provides detailed feedback on your written work (tutor-marked assignments (TMAs)) to support the development of your mentoring practice 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 study 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 will be expected to submit your tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) online through the eTMA system unless there are some difficulties which prevent you from doing so. In these circumstances, you must negotiate with your tutor to get their agreement to submit your assignment on paper.
You must also use the online eTMA system to submit the end-of-module assessment (EMA).
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 NMC approved and meets its Standards to support learning and assessment in practice (2008) for mentors. NMC approval is due for reassessment in 2012.
It is the responsibility of nurses and midwives to meet the conditions specified in the Entry section in order to seek recognition as a mentor. Fulfilling these standards is a requirement to enable your employer to enter you on the local mentor register. Should you claim that you are a qualified mentor without fulfilling the requirements you would be in contravention of the NMC Code (2008).
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 May and November 2012. We expect it to be available twice a year.
Fees 2012
See fees and funding options for study from September 2012.
Course facts
An undergraduate course in Health and Social Care.
| About this course: | |
|---|---|
| Course code | K320 |
| Credits | 30 |
| OU Level | 3 |
| SCQF level | 10 |
| FHEQ level | 6 |
| Course work includes: |
|---|
| 2 Tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) |
| End-of-module assessment |
| No residential school |
Study explained
- Financial support
- - find out if you qualify for support with your fees with our eligibility checker.
- Study explained
- - all you need to know about distance learning with the OU.
Student Reviews
I found Mentoring an interesting course to participate in, although was foiled by personal misgivings as to my own suitability ...
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Or contact an adviser in our Student Registration & Enquiry Service Email or call +44(0) 845 300 60 90+44(0) 845 366 60 35
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