Clinical Evaluation
UNDERGRADUATE CLINICAL COMMITTEE
SPRING 2011
Concept of Clinical evaluation
 Student performance is observed
 Performance is compared to a set of pre-defined
outcomes
 Judgments are made about students’ competency
 Judgments are subjective
 Performance is converted into a Pass/Fail grade
for the clinical lab portion of the course (Gaberson &
Oermann, 2010).
Gaberson, K. & Oermann, M., (2010) Clinical Teaching Strategies in Nursing. Spring
Publishing Company. New York, NY. 3rd ed. Pp371-414
Formative Evaluation
 Goal is to improve subsequent performance




during current rotation
Occurs weekly
Is not a grade
Provides feedback about progress during clinical
rotation
Formative evaluation is timely and allows
students to respond to feedback and move
forward in their learning (Gaberson & Oermann, 2010).
Gaberson, K. & Oermann, M., (2010) Clinical Teaching Strategies in Nursing. Spring Publishing
Company. New York, NY. 3rd ed. Pp371-414
Summative Evaluation
 Designed to assign a grade to summarize
competencies determined throughout the
rotation.
 Summative evaluation is done at mid-term and at
the end of the clinical rotation
 Is a pass/fail grade
 Comes too late for the student to improve
performance (Gaberson & Oermann, 2010).
Gaberson, K. & Oermann, M., (2010) Clinical Teaching Strategies in Nursing. Spring Publishing
Company. New York, NY. 3rd ed. Pp371-414
Fairness in Evaluation
Our goal is to provide fair clinical evaluations of our students. Because
evaluation is not objective, clinical faculty must understand their own:




Values
Attitudes
Beliefs
Biases
That may affect the evaluation process
Gaberson, K. & Oermann, M., (2010) Clinical Teaching Strategies in Nursing. Spring Publishing Company. New York, NY.
3rd ed. Pp371-414
Fairness in Evaluation (cont’d)
OUTCOMES
 Base evaluation of pre-defined set of outcomes
 Outcomes are the framework for observing
performance
 Outcomes are the framework for judging
performance
Gaberson, K. & Oermann, M., (2010) Clinical Teaching Strategies in Nursing. Spring Publishing Company. New York, NY.
3rd ed. Pp371-414
Fairness in Evaluation (cont’d)
SUPPORTIVE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
 Students respond well to a environment where there is mutual




respect and trust
Students need to understand that feedback from the
instructor is intended to help them learn
Students need to feel comfortable coming to the instructor for
guidance
Students should not be avoiding the instructor
Faculty and facility staff need to work together and
communicate effectively to create a supportive environment
Gaberson, K. & Oermann, M., (2010) Clinical Teaching Strategies in Nursing. Spring Publishing Company. New York, NY. 3 rd ed.
Pp371-414
Providing Feedback to the Student
Five principles for student feedback:
1. Precise and Specific – avoid general statements such as “You
need to work in the lab a bit more.”
2. Provide both verbal and visual feedback for skills – talk
about the skill and demonstrate the skill.
3. Give prompt feedback – at the time of learning or
immediately after.
4. Earlier in the program, students require increased frequency
of feedback and positive reinforcement.
5. Feedback should be diagnostic – feedback guides learning.
Gaberson, K. & Oermann, M., (2010) Clinical Teaching Strategies in Nursing. Spring Publishing Company. New York, NY. 3 rd ed.
Pp371-414
Post-Conference
 Students need to be able to present their cases and
ideas orally.
 Discussion leads to problem solving.
 Post-conference should involve formative
evaluation for improvement
 Student should be able to:
1. Present ideas clearly
2. Contribute relevant ideas
3. Engage in group critical thinking
4. Assume leadership role as appropriate
Gaberson, K. & Oermann, M., (2010) Clinical Teaching Strategies in Nursing. Spring
Publishing Company. New York, NY. 3rd ed. Pp371-414
Self-Evaluation
 Students should be able to assess their own
competency and learning needs
 Student’s skill at self-evaluation develops as they
progress through the program
 Student’s self-evaluation is helpful for instructors to
develop plans to assist students in their learning
 Self-evaluation is useful for formative evaluation and
should not be graded
Gaberson, K. & Oermann, M., (2010) Clinical Teaching Strategies in Nursing. Spring Publishing
Company. New York, NY. 3rd ed. Pp371-414
Failing Clinical
Instructors are faced with students who do not meet
outcomes and fail the clinical lab portion of the course.
Principles to keep in mind:
1. Clinical faculty must know and follow clinical
requirements of the course – available in the course
syllabus
2 Explore your own feelings about meaning and grading
of clinical performance
3. Understand what failing clinical means for the course
grade.
Gaberson, K. & Oermann, M., (2010) Clinical Teaching Strategies in Nursing. Spring Publishing
Company. New York, NY. 3rd ed. Pp371-414
Failing Clinical (cont’d)
4.
5.
6.
7.
Document student performance
Give timely feedback on clinical issues
Use appropriate forms for Clinical Warnings
Have students sign all Clinical Warnings, narrative,
and anecdotal feedback
8. Identify performance problems early and develop
learning plans with remediation if needed
9. Follow course policies for clinical failure of the
course
Gaberson, K. & Oermann, M., (2010) Clinical Teaching Strategies in Nursing. Spring Publishing
Company. New York, NY. 3rd ed. Pp371-414
Hyperlinks to CONHS Resources
Clinical Issues of Concern Flow Chart
Clinical Failure Defined
Clinical Issues of Concern Purpose State
Clinical Warning Form
Remediation Form