A mixed-methods study exploring sign-off mentorship practices in relation to the Nursing and Midwifery Council standards.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To investigate the current practice and experience of sign-off mentors in one NHS trust. BACKGROUND: In the UK, sign-off mentors support nursing students in their last clinical placement and are accountable for the final assessment of fitness to practice as a registered nurse. DESIGN: Mixed-methods study. METHODS: The focus was on two key Nursing and Midwifery Council standards: the requirement for students to work at least 40% of their time on clinical placement with a sign-off mentor/mentor; the sign-off mentor had one-hour-per-week protected time to meet the final placement student. Data were collected through two audits of clinical and university documents and an experience survey administered to all sign-off mentors in one trust. RESULTS: The audits showed that only 22/42 (52%) of students were supervised by their sign-off mentor/mentor at least 40% of the time, whilst 10/42 (24%) students never worked a shift with their sign-off mentor. Only one student met their sign-off mentor every week. Complete data were available in 31/64 (47%) sign-off mentors, of whom 21/30 (70%) rarely/never had reduced clinical commitment to mentor final placement students. Furthermore, 19/28 (68%) met their student after their shift had ended with 24/30 (80%) reporting not getting any protected time. CONCLUSION: Sign-off mentors have inadequate time and resources to undertake their role, yet are accountable for confirming the student has the required knowledge and skills to practise safely. The current model needs urgent review to improve mentoring standards. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Understanding how the role of the sign-off mentor is working in practice is critical to ensuring that the Nursing and Midwifery Council standards are met, ensuring students are well supported and appropriately assessed in practice, and mentoring is given the high profile it deserves to guarantee high-quality care and protecting the public.

Enhancing knowledge of mental health issues among children's nursing students: evaluation of a service user-led workshop.

BACKGROUND: Over the past 20 years, the number of children and young people with mental health issues has increased. During their clinical placements, children's nursing students often encounter such service users, as well as mothers with mental health issues such as postnatal depression. Many of these students have reported feeling inadequately prepared to meet the needs of these service users. AIM: To evaluate a service user-led workshop to improve the knowledge and confidence of children's nursing students in caring for children and young people with mental health issues. METHOD: One university in the south of England ran an interactive workshop as part of a final-year module for BSc and MSc children's nursing students. The workshop was facilitated by service users who had experienced mental health issues. Questionnaires were administered before and after the workshop to collect data from students who attended, then quantitative and qualitative analyses of the data were conducted. FINDINGS: This study found that children's nursing students gained knowledge and confidence in caring for children and young people with mental health issues after attending the workshop. Four themes were identified from the pre-questionnaire data: fear and anxiety; boundaries; mixed experiences; and learning on the job. The themes of boundaries and learning on the job were identified again in the post-questionnaire data, as well as the additional themes of 'being with, rather than doing' and 'further knowledge'. CONCLUSION: Service user involvement is an essential aspect of nurse education due to its positive and motivating effects on students. Future research could explore the optimal type of service user input required at different stages of nurse education, to ensure that it enhances the development of students' knowledge and confidence.