Triangulation for the assessment of clinical nursing skills: A review of theory, use and methodology

Summative assessment of clinical practice of student nurses: A review of the literature

“…broad assessment creates difficulties for the mentor in judging the students' ability (Fotheringham, 2010). Comprehensive knowledge of the whole context of the student nurse in practice is difficult to obtain (Dolan, 2003).…”

“…There are different interpretations of competence and competence assessment Cassidy, 2009;Fotheringham, 2010). Mentors can have very different criteria for the assessment and what is and is not acceptable (Dolan, 2003).…”

Assessment of Clinical Nursing Competencies: Literature Review

“…Nurse educators have a responsibility to ensure that graduates are well prepared for the demands and challenges they will encounter in practice [32]. There is a current imperative to implement a modern and appropriate method of clinical evaluation in nursing education [9,29]. The current trend requires moving from a generic, technical approach to a more holistic model of clinical assessment, which supports the nurturing and development of competent nursing professionals [34].…”

“…Three approaches to assessment of assessing nursing students' nursing competencies were identified from the literature and include observation methods [1,7], self-perception methods [8] and methods combining both approaches [9]. Of these methods, observation of student performance and the use of skills checklists appear to be the most common [10,11].…”

“…This can be done either by direct observation in the clinical environment [7,12] or by observing the student in the clinical skills laboratory (CLS) using scenarios and clinical skills checklists to measure performance [1]. Other multimethod approaches are used and include clinical portfolio evaluation [13], along with critical incident reports, case-based assessment, peer assessment [9], and reflection [14]. Reflection is important because nurses need to think critically and reflection develops responsibility in clinical practice [15].…”