Fitting in with the team: facilitative mentors in physiotherapy student placements’

Clinical placements are central to Physiotherapy students’ education, providing an environment in which students can apply learning they have been introduced to in academic settings. However placement learning has been identified as fraught with problems and resultant stress and there is limited evidence available on what exactly makes a good placement for Physiotherapy students. This paper reports on selected findings from a study exploring narratives of Physiotherapy students over three years, relating to their overall experiences of being a student. A narrative prompt provided an opportunity for the students to speak about ‘episodes’ of their learning experiences. A number of these ‘episodes’ related to the students’ experiences of clinical placements thus it was decided to extract these from the narratives and undertake a separate qualitative analysis of these placement experiences. The majority of the students reported positive experiences of placements overall, however, it was clear that some placement teams and mentors did not support students appropriately. A welcoming team and a mentor who facilitated learning from an individual student perspective were considered to be key to a good placement experience; whilst an unwelcoming team and a mentor who objectified the student resulted in bad placement experiences

The influence of role models in undergraduate nurse education.

To explore the concept of role modelling in undergraduate nurse education and its effect on the personal and professional development of student nurses.Effective educative strategies are important for student nurses, who have to cope with learning in both clinical and university settings. Given the contemporary issues facing nurse education and practice in the United Kingdom (UK) it is timely and important to undertake pedagogical research into the concept of role modelling as an effective educative method.A descriptive narrative approach.Unstructured interviews were conducted with 14 current/recently discontinued students from Adult and Mental Health branches of nursing degree programmes in the North West region of England, United Kingdom (UK). Data were thematically analysed.Students valued exposure to positive role models in clinical and university settings and viewed them as beneficial to their learning. Exposure to negative role models occurred and this provided students with opportunities to consider the type of nurse they aspired to become. In some cases students exposure to perceived poor practice had an adverse effect on their learning and led to negative feelings about nursing work. Clinical staff might be perceived as more relevant role models than those in the university setting although there were still opportunities for academic staff to model professional behaviours.The study found that role modelling is an effective way to support learning and led to student satisfaction across both clinical and university settings. The findings support the use of role models in nurse education and further research about conscious positive modelling of practice is required.Exploring the use of role models is important when examining ways in which the quality of nurse education might be developed. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Students’ perceptions of their learning experiences: A repeat regional survey of healthcare students

Background Student experience is an international concern and recent research has focused on initiatives to improve students’ learning experiences and ultimately reduce attrition levels. Objective To determine similarities and differences between students’ perceptions of their learning experiences between 2011 and 2015 in relation to campus-based learning, placement-based learning and personal circumstances. Design A repeat online survey in 2011 and 2015; using a questionnaire developed from thematic analysis of narrative interviews with a subsample of the target population. Settings Nine universities in the North West of England. Participants A total of 1080 students completed the survey in 2011 and 1983 students in 2015 from a target population of all students studying on commissioned pre-registration healthcare education programmes. Methods An online survey was made available to all undergraduate students studying on Health Education funded programmes within the region and survey respondents were invited to give demographic information and rate their agreement to statements on four-point Likert-type responses. Results Responses to a repeat survey of healthcare studying in the North West of England in 2015 were strikingly similar overall to those of an original 2011 survey. Although the students were positive overall about their experiences, a number were dissatisfied with some aspects of their experiences - particularly in relation to initial support on campus and whilst studying on placement. Four years on from the original survey, despite a considerable investment in improving students’ experiences across the region, there appears to be little change in students’ perceptions of their learning experiences Conclusion In the short-term monitoring of student experience needs to be continued; and links to attrition (potential or actual) noted and acted upon. However, given that attrition from these courses has been a long-term problem and the complexity of its resolution a recurrent finding in the literature; new ways of framing and resolving the problem need to be considered

Shape-shifting and pushing against the odds: staff perceptions of the experiences of first generation students in South Africa and the UK

The principles of diversity and inclusion are valued across the higher education sector, but the ways in which these principles are translated into pedagogic practice are not always evident. Students who are first in their family to attend university continue to report barriers to full participation in university life. They are more likely to leave their studies early, and to achieve lower grades in their final qualifications, than students whose families have previous experience of higher education. The purpose of this study was to explore whether a mismatch between staff perceptions and students’ experiences might be a possible contributor to these disparities. The study explored and compared staff discourses about the experiences of first generation students at two universities, one in the United Kingdom (UK), and the other in South Africa (SA). One-to-one interviews were carried out with 40 staff members (20 at each institution) to explore their views about first generation students. The results showed that staff were well aware of challenges faced by first generation students; however, they were unsure of their roles in relation to shaping an inclusive environment, and tended not to consider how to use the assets that they believed first generation students bring with them to higher education. This paper explores these staff discourses; and considers proposals for challenging commonly-voiced assumptions about students and university life in a broader context of diversity and inclusive teaching practice

Benchmarking factor selection and sensitivity: a case study with nursing courses

There is an increasing requirement in higher education (HE) worldwide to deliver excellence. Benchmarking is widely used for this purpose, but methodological approaches to the creation of benchmark metrics vary greatly. Approaches require selection of factors for inclusion and subsequent calculation of benchmarks for comparison. We describe an approach using machine learning to select input factors based on their value to predict completion rates of nursing courses. Data from over 36,000 students, from nine institutions over three years were included and weighted averages provided a dynamic baseline for year on year and within year comparisons between institutions. Anonymised outcomes highlight the variation in benchmarked performances between institutions and we demonstrate the value of accompanying sensitivity analyses. Our methods are appropriate worldwide, for many forms of data and at multiple scales of enquiry. We discuss our results in the context of HE management, highlighting the value of scrutinising benchmark calculations

The potential of student narratives to enhance quality in higher education

University policies are increasingly developed with reference to students’ learning experiences, with a focus on the concept of the ‘student voice’. Yet the ‘student voice’ is difficult to define and emphasis is often placed on numerical performance indicators. A diverse student population has wide-ranging educational experiences, which may not be easily captured within the broad categories provided by traditional survey tools, which can drown out the rich, varied and gradual processes of individual development. There is no single tool that can be used to measure students’ experiences. This paper draws on findings from four narrative inquiry studies, carried out in the United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, to illustrate how a narrative approach could be used to complement performance indicators. This provides a richer context for educators’ understanding of students’ experiences and for supporting and setting institutional agendas

The wicked problem of healthcare student attrition

The early withdrawal of students from healthcare education programmes, particularly nursing, is an international concern and, despite considerable investment, retention rates have remained stagnant. Here, a regional study of healthcare student retention is used as an example to frame the challenge of student attrition using a concept from policy development, wicked problem theory. This approach allows the consideration of student attrition as a complex problem derived from the interactions of many interrelated factors, avoiding the pitfalls of small‐scale interventions and over‐simplistic assumptions of cause and effect. A conceptual framework is proposed to provide an approach to developing actions to reduce recurrent investment in interventions that have previously proved ineffective at large scale. We discuss how improvements could be achieved through integrated stakeholder involvement and acceptance of the wicked nature of attrition as a complex and ongoing problem

The meaning of compassion fatigue to student nurses: an interpretive phenomenological study

Background: Compassion fatigue is a form of occupational stress which occurs when individuals are exposed to suffering and trauma on an ongoing basis. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of compassion fatigue among student nurses following their first clinical placement in a UK health care setting during 2015. Methods: The aim of this study was to explore students’ thoughts and feelings about compassion fatigue using reflective poems as a source of data. An interpretive phenomenological approach was taken using a purposeful sampling strategy which aimed to explore in depth meaning of the concept as experienced by the students. Results: From this study it is clear that students experience compassion fatigue and this has a psychological effect on their wellbeing and ability to learn in the clinical practice setting. Reflective poetry writing enabled articulation of feelings which were at times negative and linked to the student’s status as a novice nurse. Conclusions: Students experience compassion fatigue and educators need to find ways to provide support in both clinical and university settings. Positive practices such as shared reflection and the use of creative teaching methods might be beneficial, to support exploration of feelings, build resilience and effective ways of coping

‘You were instantly made to feel like part of the team.’—the impact of belongingness on students’ placement experiences

Physiotherapists across the world routinely work with students and clinical placements are central to physiotherapy students’ education; providing a real-world environment in which students can contextualise the theory and skills they have been introduced to in academic settings. However placement learning has been previously identified as fraught with problems and a source of considerable stress (Bowden, 2008; Gibbons, 2010; Timmins and Kaliszer, 2002); with negative placement experiences causing students to reflect on their choice of career and, consider leaving their programme (Andrew et al., 2008; Bowden, 2008; Hamshire et al., 2011)

Towards new heights in teaching excellence: reflections on recognition

As a multinational group of teaching fellows, we consider the highs and lows of our individual and collective journeys towards teaching excellence. The panel will explore the dynamics and challenges of being recognised for excellence in teaching and learning whilst simultaneously unravelling the difficult spaces we learn to operate in. How excellence is defined and conceptualised frames our discussion. Gunn and Fisk (2013) are clear in their literature review that the concept of excellence in teaching lacks consensus. Though certainly in the UK, governmental stakeholder agenda setting is having an impact on the definitions with the rise of metric based teaching excellence framework. Currently some national and institutional surveys (eg UK National Student Survey (NSS 2014, Australian Graduate Survey, 2016, USA National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) 2016, Irish Survey of Student Engagement (ISSE) 2016) alongside progression data and participation rates. Do these indicators act as drivers and what other performance indicators of excellence exist? Little and Locke (2001, 19) state that "A teaching mission necessarily embraces both a concern for teaching and a concern for the end product of the teaching process that is: the student learning experience" but do we sufficiently take into account of that experience when we are defining excellence and how does it impact on the metrics? As a panel we seek to explore the issues and questions around identifying and recognising markers/signs of excellence across disciplines, countries and cultures, the role and impact of teaching fellows, institutional support for the development of teaching fellows and the aspirations of future teaching fellows as we continue our mission/climb to the peak of our metaphoric mountain range of teaching excellence. We also seek to discuss whether we can ever truly reach the zenith of teaching excellence and stay there! Building on the work of Frame et al (2007) and examining whether teaching fellowships are an award or reward for teaching excellence international scholars and SoTL practitioners will present their stories and reflect upon the journeys travelled so far. The audience will have the opportunity to explore the concept of excellent teaching, engage with dialogue and reflect on international perspectives and recognise the terrain and territories teaching fellows have navigated and are continuing to chart