Assessment of competence in clinical practice — a review of the literature

Becoming a professional: What is the influence of registered nurses on nursing students' learning in the clinical environment?

“…In presenting my early reviews of the literature I received positive feedback from peers on the professional concerns relating to the implementation of a competency curriculum framework and assessment approach to nurse education (O Luanaigh, 2004, O Luanaigh, 2005. This shift in educational thinking was very possibly due to concerns raised in the early to mid nineties by authors such as Girot (1993a) who had highlighted concerns about the perceived lack of rigour in assessing nursing students within the clinical environment. Wellard et al (2006) over ten years later, continued the debate and identified the need to,…”

“…While the debate and contrasting positions between Bradshaw (2000) and Kitson (2001) is now 10 years old, It has been argued that previously and currently, nursing students lack sound clinical skills and are passing courses without the required abilities (Fitzpatrick et al, 1993, Girot, 1993a, Bradshaw, 2000a. There is a significant risk that mentors will continue to view the clinical environment as just that, a working environment failing to recognise the need to also view the clinical environment as a learning environment if alternative approaches to learning are not promoted (Newton et al, 2009).…”

“…Aligned to the shift towards a greater competence focus in nursing courses was the long standing and on-going debate on how to effectively assess clinical competence to assure that newly qualified nurses had the appropriate knowledge, skills and attitudes to provide effective nursing care (Fitzpatrick et al, 1993, Girot, 1993a, Bradshaw, 1997, Bradshaw, 1998, Chambers, 1998, Nicol and Freeth, 1998, Bartlett et al, 2000, Bradshaw, 2000a.…”

An Analysis of the Concept of Competence in Nursing Education

“…This ambiguity is manifested by the philosophical debate centred on how and when a nurse is deemed competent [4]. The fundamental question that informs this paper therefore is; can nurses develop competence incrementally?…”

Formality and informality in the summative assessment of motor vehicle apprentices: a case study

“…that it can be used to exert control and punish 'difficult' or unpopular candidates. (Wolf, 1995: 98) The risk, then, is that the assessment process is not just subverted, but becomes 'no assessment at all' (Girot, 1993, cited in Wolf, 1995. While there are some similarities with the critiques of assessment as an aspect of the mentor's role discussed above (mainly regarding the tensions of combining both roles), here we see the critique coming from a different angle.…”