Innovative placement allocation model for pre-registration student nurses

Student nurses require a variety of high quality practice placements to prepare them for registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) yet in reality this can be difficult to achieve. This case study reports on the development and implementation of a Practice Placement Allocation Model that has provided one University in the north west of England and its partner practice placement healthcare organisations with a framework to shift from a traditional, process-led pre-registration nursing student placement allocation system (adult field) to a robust, proactive, student-focused approach. The model is based upon practice placement allocation partnership concepts and these include advanced planning of student placements and clear lines of communication between all stakeholders involved in the practice placement of students. Application of the model has resulted in the sharing of timely information across organisations via a central framework and this has allowed for any underlying practice allocation problems to be quickly identified and resolved. Importantly, each practice partner now fully understands the role that they play and how to communicate more effectively. Challenges and opportunities are presented together with the evidence of how the model can be transferred to other healthcare professions and fields of nursing. 5 key points: 1. The government is insistent on producing and maintain a nursing workforce that provides quality and compassionate nursing care 2. The nursing students’ practice placement is a key component of an effective pre-registration nurse education programme 3. Ensuring that all nursing students have the variety of placements can be a challenge to providers of pre-registration nurse education 4. Practice placements should be mapped and allocated according to the students education programme requirements and individual needs 5. Application of a Practice Placement Allocation Model provides the best platform for the effective placement of nursing students and promotes partnership working between stakeholder