Clinical Mentorship and
Assessment of Operating
Department Practitioner Students
Mentor Preparation/Update
Sheffield Hallam
University
© SHEFFIELD HALLAM UNIVERSITY 2009
Sheffield Hallam University 2007
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SHU ODP mentorship
preparation/update overview 2007
Introductions
Levels of competence
Aims
Action planning
Who’s who in the SHU ODP team
Exercises
What is mentorship and how does it
Action plans
relate to modern practice
Placement review
The philosophy of mentor preparation
Student review
Who can mentor
Listening and trusting
Supervision
Interprofessional learning
Scope of practice
Codes of conduct
Introduction to the modules
Mentor update quiz
Roles and responsibilities
Questions
Clinical assessment
Evaluation
Competence
Reflection
Direct observation
Questions
Mini assignments Sheffield Hallam University 2007
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Aim of this session
 To
discuss how you and I support
students
 To introduce or update the
assessment tools and strategies
 To introduce or update the
paperwork
 To encourage you to think about
the mentorship relationship.
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Who are the team at Sheffield
Hallam University ?
At present a team of 6 lecturers working alongside
other university colleagues who also support student
ODP's.
John
Rutherford
Karen DeMasi
Debbie
Hall
David
Fotheringham
Brears
Martin Reilly
Ray Swann
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What is Mentorship?
The origins of the word spring
from Homer's "The Odyssey",
where Odysseus, off to war,
chose "Mentor" (who was the
goddess Athene), to protect and
advise his son "Telemachus."
This has translated to the modern
day as an "experienced and trusted
adviser"
(Oxford Dictionary).
The Dept of Health states that;
Mentors & teachers are vital to the preparation of the
next generation of practitioners.
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Mentors require "robust
preparation" for their role.
Mentor preparation equips appropriately qualified and experienced
practitioners to assume responsibility for the student's learning in the
practice setting, the quality of that learning, and the assessment of competencies
to demonstrate the extent to which learning outcomes are met.
(DoH 2001)
MENTORS:
•Facilitate student learning across pre & post registration
programmes.
•Supervise, support & guide students in practice in
institutional and non-institutional settings.
•Implement improved assessment procedures.
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What qualifications do I need to be a
mentor for SHU ODP students?
Qualified
registered
practitioner
(ODP,
Nurse, Other)
At least 1 year post
registration experience
Recognised teaching qualifications
Recognised mentorship courses
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Clarification
Student supervision
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Supervision of ODP students while on Clinical placement
A policy has been developed following
consultation with clinical staff, by which ODP
students should be supervised while on clinical
placement.
These guidelines protect patients, students &
practitioners during clinical placement and
assessments. These are an integral element of
the Diploma HE in ODP.
Supervised students are able to work safely
and within their scope of practice
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Supervision of ODP students while on
Clinical placement
SUPERNUMERY STATUS- university students & not employees- should
not be included 'in numbers'( please refer to Mentor handbook SHU 2007)
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SCOPE OF PRACTICE –
Students and staff should be aware of their
roles & responsibilities.
Students who do not work within this scope either through choice
or coercion could be disciplined.
Placement sites knowingly allowing this may lose their eligibility to
have students.
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GUIDELINES:
Anaesthetic duties- Students must be supervised at all times by an
appropriately qualified practitioner who is in the area where the
student is working.
Scrubbed duties- Someone will be scrubbed with the student at all times.
PACU- Students should not be left unsupervised.
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Module overview
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Overview of SHU ODP
student curriculum
Semester 1
Semester 2
Interprofessional Education
Year 1
120 Credits
Clinical Education in ODP (30c)
Principles of Anaesthetic Practice 1
(20c)
Human Biology
(10c)
Foundations of Operating Department
Practice (10c)
Principles of Surgical Practice 1
(20c)
Introduction to IT Skills (10c)
Year 2
120 Credits
Principles of Surgical Practice 2 (20c)
Advanced Human Biology
(20c)
Interprofessional Education
Clinical Education in ODP (20c)
Principles of Anaesthetic Practice 2
(20c)
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Principles of Post Anaesthetic
Care (10c)
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Roles & Responsibilities
The studentTo reflect on the fact that they are undertaking a programme of
learning that will lead to a professionally recognised qualification.
Professional behaviour; Time keeping, attendance in clinical &
academic placements. Guidelines as detailed in the preparation for
placement document on the ODP website
At least 80% attendance in university and 100% attendance in
clinical placement
On Clinical placement these guidelines should be followed;
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Students must always work under direct supervision.
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Students must always treat mentors with respect
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Students must never undertake duties outside their capabilities.
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Students in doubt should always ask for assistance or seek advice
from university.
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No-one else can take responsibility for the students action's.
They alone will be held responsible professionally/legally if they
take on duties that are outside their role.
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Roles & Responsibilities
Placement co-ordinator
Responsible for organising student's clinical experience.
Is the 'link' between all the phases of the students education & will
link with the university & clinical mentors to ensure that students
receive the experience they require to complete the course and meet
standards of proficiency.
Responsible for ensuring students are progressing in the clinical setting.
Complete End of semester reviews.
Check the work students have undertaken in each allocation.
Liase with mentors as required.
Responsible for the support of students (as an 'expert' in ) the use of
reflection
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Roles & Responsibilities
Clinical mentor
The person who will work with the student most of the
time on clinical placement.
Will give support & instruction
Will assess competence using methods described and
support the student in the use of reflection
Students may find themselves working with a number of
mentors/practitioners.
A multiple mentor model allows the NAMED mentor to
organise a placement to ensure that the student
works with appropriate practitioners at all times.
Ensuring assessment of skills is done accurately.
Assessment in practice is randomly monitored by the
visiting lecturer
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Roles & Responsibilities
Clinical Link lecturer
A member of the university teaching staff linked to
the clinical placement.
Will visit 5 times per year.
To ensure students are progressing to the correct
level, have completed the work required of the
portfolio.
Assist in the event of placement site problems.
Monitors live assessments to ensure consistency
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Clinical Assessments!
PORTFOLIO DEVELOPMENT
Assessment process
Clinical competencies
The assessment process for the clinical competencies and
the clinical education modules are intrinsically linked.
The clinical work and underpinning knowledge created by
completing the clinical skills will assist in the development of the
portfolio required at the end of the module.
Reflective accounts
The reflective accounts required in the review process may be
be used in the portfolio, and any evidence used to show
knowledge to the clinical mentors can be developed to form part
of the information in the portfolio, in addition reflective practice is an ideal
assessment method in clinical competence, supporting live observation.
Reflection is an important component in the assessment strategy and students are
encouraged to use this as one of their assessment methods in practice to support
observed practice
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Clinical Competencies
To pass the clinical competencies in the portfolio the student will need
to show competence in both
1.
the direct observation section
(mentor watching them work) and
2.
one of the other areas to indicate they
understand the underpinning principles, policies
and responsibility
of the role.
However in areas where student are unable to be assessed using
direct observation, two of the other forms of evidence can be
used but only as detailed in the assessment guidelines for clinical education.
Student and mentor should highlight in the plan how they intend to show competence
in the assessments
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Assessment areas
Direct Observation. This involves observing the student
undertake the tasks in the clinical competencies until they meet
the required level for the year. The number of times required to
show competence will depend of the
student’s ability and the area of practice.
Verbal/Written Questions. The easiest way to assess the students
underpinning knowledge of the skills they are undertaking. Verbal
questions are effective and quick and can be undertaken in the
clinical area whilst you are working with the student. However be
sure to make some notes though as a record of what you asked.
Often the most effective way of assessing someone's knowledge
is to get them to talk it through, reflection is a powerful tool as it
comes from real situations.
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Assessment areas
Written Questions. These can be either given to the student to take
away and do in their study time or completed in the presence of the
assessor. There is no minimal or maximum number of questions; however it
is important to use the appropriate competence levels for marking and
assessing knowledge. Again it is essential for the student to have a record of
the questions and a conformation of competence.
Assignments. The university sees small assignments as a
useful tool in assessing students knowledge in practice. It is advised
that they should be no more than 500 words in length and where possible
the student should reference their work.
This method should only be used in circumstances where live assessment is
impossible and this is highlighted in the assessment criteria of the
competencies document
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Assessment areas
Reflective accounts by the student, students are encouraged to keep a
reflective log of their experiences and use reflection to show how their
role is incorporated in the care of patients, team working and using evidence
based practice. These can be used as evidence if the information is appropriate
for the assessment being undertaken.
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Reflection
What is reflection?
Reflection has been described as a dimension of critical thinking, a term in
which individuals engage to explore their experiences in order to lead to new
understandings.
By using reflection as a learning tool and as a component of learning through
experience it helps students to integrate the theory and the practice.
o
Models of Reflection
A model is a structured framework which has been shown to be effective in
promoting and enhancing reflection. Some models include: Gibbs, Carper, and
Johns.
e.g Gibbs (1988) This is simple to use and easy to understand. It has 5
components;
1. A description of what has happened
2. Feelings – what you were thinking and feeling
3. Evaluation – what was good and bad about the experience
4. Conclusion – what else could have been done?
5. Action plan – if it arose again what would you do?
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Year 1 Competencies
To progress from year one to year two students must
show competence in all the clinical skills listed in the
clinical competencies.

However the university appreciates that by the end of year one the
student will not have achieved the level of a competent practitioner.
The level the university wishes the mentors to assess in year one is to the level of
“SUPERVISED PARTICIPANT”.
The mentor is assessing the students progression from observer in the clinical
setting to a level where they are actively involved in patient care.
Students need to show progression of skills, development of knowledge to be able to
recognise links between theory and practice and the ability to undertake routine
procedures
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Year 2 Competencies
In year two of the course students must show competence in all of the
clinical skills listed in the clinical competencies.
The level the university wishes the mentors to
assess the students to in year two is to the level of
“COMPETENT” You can interpret this as SAFE OR UNSAFE if that helps
The mentor is assessing the student to the level of a newly qualified practitioner.
who is able to undertake the skills expected of an Operating Department
Practitioner, without specialty in one area.
The student is showing competence in routine and emergency procedures where the basic
skills of an Operating Department Practitioner are required.
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Action Planning
Can be completed by the mentor or
the student.
All decisions need to be agreed by
both parties.
The information on the action plan can
include any of the following items.
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Period of placement dates
Roles to be undertaken
Hours of work (NB No more than 37 hrs per week)
Who you will be working with.
Skills to be focussed on in placement (from clinical
competencies)
Any learning or teaching required
Assessment methods
Review times
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Action plans for clinical placements
STUDENTS NAME………………………………………………
MENTOR…………………………………………………………
OTHER STAFF INVOLVED
IN PLACEMENT………………………………………………..
PLACEMENT AREA………………………………………
SPECIALITY……………………………………………….
CLINICAL ROLE………………………………………….
Plan for achievement of clinical skills
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Exercise;
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Lets do some exercises
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Exercise; Action planning
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In pairs discuss how you would plan
to support a year 2 student in the
clinical area, formulate an action
plan and discuss how you will judge
competence. It may be useful for
one person to play the student.
Discuss how you will ensure that
you are assessing consistently
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Exercise; Placement review
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Working alone and using the copy of the
placement audit tool look at your
placement area and fill in the audit
honestly, then join up with someone else
and decide what you think could be done
better in your department to support
students.
1. Where are we now?
2. If there are aspects of educational
support we need to improve, how can we
achieve these?
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Exercise; Student review

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Working alone and using the copy of the
student audit tool look at your placement
area and fill in the audit honestly. Think
about what the student might say about
the placement that you work in.
What might they say about the
opportunities, the facilities, the mentors?
Put yourself in their shoes. Be honest but
keep this one to yourself, This could be a
placement changing experience.
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Exercise; Listening and Trusting
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Working in groups of 3 identify mentor, student and observer.
Mentor and student are seated and blindfolded.
The observer chooses 10, 2 dimensional plastic shapes from a
selection and gives 5 random shapes to each. Some shapes
will be different colours, there is a selection of profiles.
The object of the exercise is for student and mentor to match
as many objects as possible without touching the other’s
objects.
Each may ask as many questions as they like of the other.
Both can ask the observer “what colour is this” repeatedly if
necessary. They may not ask the observer any other
questions
The purpose of the exercise is for each to experience the
building of a questioning trusting relationship, much like
mentorship really.
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Exercise; Interprofessional learning
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Examine the ways that the multi-professional
team in your clinical area work together. Make a
note of these.
Are there ways that this team also learn together?
How do health care students in your clinical area
learn and work together?
What learning opportunities can you provide to
assist health care students to experience team
work?
What learning opportunities can you provide to
assist health care students to learn together?
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Exercise: Reflection
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In groups of 3
each group document how you
could assess a student using a
model of reflection; each
choosing a different
competency to assess.
each group compare methods in
order to show consistency of
assessing.
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Mentor update quiz
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Questions
The following questions are ones
commonly asked by and sometimes of
mentors. What do you think the correct
answers are? Brief answers are given
later. Students and mentors are
individuals and their circumstances may
require individual consideration, so if the
answers given do not reflect your answer
for any of the question, seek further
guidance from your clinical link lecturer.
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Mentor update quiz
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1. Why do students need to be assessed in practice?
2. What is the best way of assessing clinical skills, in your
experience?
3. Who should teach clinical skills?
4. Who should assess clinical skills competency?
5. Where should clinical skills be assessed?
6. How do you feel clinical staff are rewarded for this
work? How could they be rewarded?
7. What other aspects of practice should be assessed?
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Mentor update quiz
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8. Must the student ‘work’ with me the whole time?
9. What do I do first when the student arrives on the
ward?
10. What is the role of the Link Lecturer in supporting the
student and me?
11. What is the role of the Personal Tutor in supporting
the student and me?
12. What do I do if the student does not co-operate with
me?
13. How do I get hold of the documents on which to
record the student’s progress?
14. What happens to the assessment document after the
student and I have filled it in?
15. How can I find out who is the Personal Tutor of a
particular student?
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Mentor update quiz
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16. How can I find out who the Link Lecturer is for the
department?
17. What happens if an assessment document gets lost?
18. Who has custody of the assessment document during
the student’s placement?
19. What do I do if the student is not performing well
enough?
20. What can I do if a student is dangerous?
21. What can I do to reward the student who is
exceptional?
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Mentor update quiz
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22. Must students do as clinical staff tell them?
23. What preparation does the student have before they
come on a placement?
24. What should I do when a student is absent or sick?
25. What are the most common problems encountered by
students and mentors?
26. Can students ‘work’ double shifts or other unusual
shift patterns?
27. What happens to student evaluation forms?
28. What if a student disagrees with my judgement?
29. At what stage do I involve School staff if I have
concerns about a student?
30. What if the student wants to change their mentor?
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Mentor update quiz
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31. How do I assess a student using reflection?
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Mentor update quiz
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Finished?
If you are looking at this on line the
answers to this quiz are in a word
document on the website
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Bibloiography
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AODP (MAY2006V2) Curriculum Document.
AODP (2006) Qualifications Framework for Mentors
Supporting Learners in Practice:
Standards and Guidance for Mentors and
Practice Placements in Support of Pre-registration Diploma of Higher Education in Operating
Department Practice Provision
Barrett R. Mentor supervision and development - exploration of lived experience Career Development
International, Volume 7, Number 5, 2002 , pp. 279-283(5) Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Benner P (1984) From Novice to Expert: Excellence and Power in Clinical Nursing Practice. Menlo Park,
California, Addison-Wesley.
The Bristol Royal Infirmary Inquiry (2001). London, The Stationary Office.
http://www.bristol-inquiry.org.uk/final_report/rpt_print.htm
Department of Health (2002) Learning from Bristol. London, The Stationary Office.
http://www.doh.gov.uk/bristolinquiryresponse/bristolresponsefull.pdf
Department of Health (1999) Making a Difference. London: Department of Health.
http://www.doh.gov.uk/pub/docs/doh/nurstrat.pdf
ENB and DoH (2001a) Preparation of Mentors and Teachers. London, The English National Board for
Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting and The Department of Health.
Godshalk, V.M. and Sosik, J.J. (2000), “Does mentor-prote´ge´ agreement on mentor leadership behavior
influence the quality of a mentoring relationship?”, Group and Organization Management, Vol. 25 No. 3,
pp. 291-317.
Gibbs (1988) The Reflective Cycle Learning By Doing; a Guide to teaching and learning methods
http://www.nmc-uk.org/cms/content/Publications/!teachers.pdf
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