NR 525 Week 3 Case Study Discussion: Part II: Organizational Policy
Week 3: Case Study Part II 54 67
Part II: Organizational Policy
Now,
... [Show More] focus on the Skills Policy of the organization. You can use many resources to find some examples of Skills Policy on the Internet. Focus on the second part of the case study by asking the following questions:
Questions for Part II:
Does the policy describe the number of times that a student may repeat a skills test? Does the policy describe any remediation needed prior to a repeat of the skills testing? Does the policy describe the consequences of failing the skills testing?
Does the policy describe how the skills testing will be evaluated (graded, pass/fail, points assigned).
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I reviewed several nursing skills lab policies on the internet. My initial nurses training was a diploma school that is no longer operating.My reply is a combination of several school's policies.
Does the policy describe the number of times a student may repeat a skills test?
Of the schools I reviewed ,a student may attempt to test 2 to 3 times for each competency.One school required a student to write a self reflection on the unsuccessful attempt with an explanation on the impact the skill has on patient safety prior to retesting.The student has skills lab to join the knowing and the doing (Herrmann-Werner , et al, 2013).Skills lab should be a safe place to make those mistakes and build confidence.
Does the policy describe and remediation needed prior to repeating the skills testing?
One school had a mandatory 1 hour minimum practice of the skill with a repeat testing in 3 days.Most have lab referrals where the student may practice independently,with a group, with a student lab assistant, or with lab manager. A required remediation was initiated after the first fail for the student to practice with a staff member prior to retesting. Having a structured and immediate feedback should help the student be successful.Skills lab has a proven track record not only for the novice but for expert (Herrman-Werner, et al,2013). The majority of the schools had highly recommended practice time prior to a repeat of a skill test. A personal example is that I am an ACLS instructor, but I must practice the skills to maintain proficiency. It has been found that theory is retained longer than a skill (Herrman- Werner, et al ,2013),therefore training and practice is necessary for retention.
Does the policy describe the consequences of failing the skills test?
Skills reflect the expectation of the nursing role and performance of those skills to ensure the safety of the patient (Bengtsson,M.,Dahlquist,B.,Carlson,E.,2016).An unsatisfactory score generally reflects on failing the course. The fear of failing may add to the anxiety the student has at testing time.The student has been made aware on consequences on the course objectives and syllabus. Opportunities for practice through independent sessions,with groups, with student lab assistance and with instructors gives time to build confidence in the skill sets.
Does the policy describe how the skills testing will be evaluated?
Check-off evaluation was common place for skills assessment. The testing was done with the student alone with the instructor
.If retesting was needed, either a new instructor or two instructors were utilized.Another option was the satisfactory/unsatisfactory grade for skills evaluation.
All schools stressed that independent practice time was encouraged.While there was mandatory lab hours, the student was expected to either in groups or independently practice skills by using the open lab hours.
Anna Hines Resources
Bengtsson,M.,Dahlquist,B.,Carlson,E.(2016).Expectations of nursing students prior to a skills-based exam performed in clinical practice.Journal of Nursing Education and Practice 6(8).22-29. doi:10.5430/jnep.v6n8p22
Finger Lakes Community College (2018) https://www.flcc.edu
Herrmann-Werner,A.,Nikendaie,C.,Keifenheim,K.,Bosse,H.,Lund,F.,et al (2013)."Best practice"skills lab training vs.a "see one,do one" approach in undergraduate medical education: An RCT on students' :long term ability to perform procedural clinical skills.PLoS One 8(9).doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0076354
Health Careers Institute (2017).https://www.hci.edu
North Western Michigan College (2018).https://www.nmc.edu Ocean County College of Nursing (2014).media.ocean.edu
Palm Beach State College (2013).https://www.palmbeachstate.edu University of Massachusetts Lowell (2015).https://www.uml.edu
(http Kathleen Brewer (Instructor)
Mar 21, 2019
Dear Anna:
Thanks for sharing this information. You did a nice job of presenting these policies. I like the school that requires remediation of students who fail prior to retaking the exam. Did any of the schools you previewed dismiss the student(s) from the program who fail? Just curious. Thanks for the discussion.
Regards, Kathleen
(http Anna Hines
(h5ps: /chamberlain.instructure.com/courses/40415/users/65203)
Mar 21, 2019
Dr Brewer
In the US 50 % of nursing students leave before completion of the program. 28% of annual admissions had an academic failure (Lewis, et al,2018) This impacts the student with higher education costs by having to take classes again. Some students take a leave and fail to complete their nursing program.The emotional turmoil this causes the student, their family and faculty adds more drama on a already stressful program. These students who are not able to complete the requirements early on may not be able to meet the rigors of the more advanced theory.
Tutoring and mentoring may help a faltering student more than issuing a failure for the class.Instructors will be in more of a role of guidance, and coaching along with being educators to aid in retention.Students will have to wait out the the year until the class cycle returns to the level they need to repeat as classes need to be taken in order.
Northwestern Michigan students must complete the nursing program within 5 years.Any portion of a 2.5 GPA or Unsatisfactory must be retaken . Because information and technology changes rapidly along with evidence based practice,it is felt that to stay current all classes must be completed in the 5 year time span.
Mercy College of Ohio gives a failing grade, but dismissal from program is not mentioned.
Health Career Institute offers the student a withdraw if they fail the skills lab course.Again,there is no mention that they cannot be in the program.
Anna Hines
Lewis,L.,Milner,A.,Willingham,T. (2018).The incidence of student repeaters in pre-licensure nursing programs in North Carolina.Teaching ans Learning in Nursing 13(4).215-218. doi:10.1016/j.teln.2018.05.005
(http Evelyn Mathis
(h5ps: /chamberlain.instructure.com/courses/40415/users/34416)
Mar 22, 2019
Anna,
Student’s success as well as retention rates and attrition has been at the center of attention of many educational institutions. The creation of policies in any institution not only a clear written statement of expectations, but also take away the guess work in what is define as acceptable behavior or performance in higher education institutions.
In a study conducted by Arnold, (2015), on 450 Dutch bachelor programs, it was found that dismissal policies had a negative effect on the number of drop-out students in their first years by an average of 6-7%, but, it was interesting to find out that the same dismissal policies caused a positive influence in studying progress in 5-9% of the rest of those first year students who continued to their fourth year, the study concluded that indeed policies as harsh or strict as they might see when they are first introduced, can be an effective intervention to those students who are really motivated to learn and reach their adult career goals, it is an important observation in designing policy interventions is that the majority of students who are not successful at university fail to do well in their first year.
Policies provide an added value to both active faculty and students in that an extra layer of objectivity is clearly delineated in the different policies clauses. Policies contribute to having a higher quality student’s expectations outcomes and better faculty delivery of teachings by providing an exact list of actions.
References
Arnold, I. J. M. (2015). The effectiveness of academic dismissal policies in Dutch university education: an empirical investigation. Studies in Higher Education, 40(6), 1068–1084. https://doi- org.chamberlainuniversity.idm.oclc.org/10.1080/03075079.2013.858684
(http Pamela Harris
(h5ps: /chamberlain.instructure.com/courses/40415/users/1057~14237)
Mar 22, 2019
Anna,
I like that your school had a remediation process. I could not find one for Mercy College. I did find in the Illinois State Nursing Simulation Lab Policies and Procedures (2017) had a remediation policy. The policy was faculty completed the remediation form. The form is emailed to the student and lab coordinator. The student signups up to schedule a practice session (Illinois State Nursing Simulation Lab Policies and Procedures, 2017). The graduate student signs off on the remediation session and return it to the instructor. After the student completes the practice skills test, the student can return to schedule the lab skills test. I believe this is better than just rescheduling the test after failing.
References
Nursing Simulation Lab Policies and Procedures Manual ... (n.d.). Retrieved from https://nursing.illinoisstate.edu/downloads/NSL Policies and Procedures_FINAL.pdf
For the purpose of discussion of skills policy for ABC university for week 3, Finger Lakes Community College (FLCC) Department of Nursing guidelines (https://www.flcc.edu/pdf/nursing/policies.pdf) will be used to answer the following four questions:
(1) Does the policy describe the number of times that a student may repeat a skills test?
Yes, the policy guidelines at FLCC allow for NR 100 students to test three times prior to the deadline, and for NR 101 and 202 students to test twice for each competency (2018).
(2) Does the policy describe any remediation needed prior to a repeat of the skills testing?
Yes, the policy at FLCC states in the event a skills competency is not passed, a student must meet the following criteria (2018):
The student has attempted the competency at least once prior to the specified deadline. The student’s academic average, verified at the time of the failed competency, is:
NUR 100 – 74% or better
NUR 101, 202, 203 and 204 – 70% or better.
The student’s clinical performance is satisfactory at the time of the failed competency.
In addition, the student has not required additional testing for any other competency during the semester
(3) Does the policy describe the consequences of failing the skills testing?
Yes, FLCC policy states if a student has failed a competency and does not meet all of the criteria (as listed above this) s/he may request in writing a course level appeal with the course faculty to appeal the resulting failure (2018). The student may continue with class and clinical participation pending the hearing outcome (FLCC, 2018).
(4) Does the policy describe how the skills testing will be evaluated (graded, pass/fail, points assigned).
Yes, the FLCC policy states that if a student fails skills competency, that they fail the clinical portion (2018); failure of the clinical portion results in failure of the course. Clinical is graded on s/u, satisfactory or unsatisfactory, there is not an assigned percentage to the clinical portion of the courses; a student must achieve satisfactory in the clinical portion to pass the course.
While these policies are set in place for FLCC there is also a clause which states that guidelines and procedures are subject to review and change at the recommendation of the Departmental Academic Standards Committee and approval of the Nursing Department (2018). So while the questions were able to be answered for the purpose of this week’s discussion, there is some flexibility to any of the given guidelines and policies.
Reference:
Finger Lakes Community College (2018). Retrieved from https://www.flcc.edu/pdf/nursing/policies.pdf
(http Anna Hines
(h5ps: /chamberlain.instructure.com/courses/40415/users/65203)
Mar 21, 2019
Kristine
I also used Finger Lakes Community College as one of my references.I felt that it answered the assignment questions.Their policy reflected the other schools' policies of their nursing skills lab.Having a well developed plan helps the student know exact expectations and consequences of the skills lab.Students in a nursing program are joining the theory and practice in the skills lab. They have learned the why, it is important to now the how to do a skill.Often students have the attitude of working with manikins is not 'real' so it does not matter as simulation attempts to make the scenario non- judgmental.Students fail to connect the hard work with success (Mannahan & Gray,2015).They need to link their effort, attitude and academic performance to the skills area just as in the classroom.The policy and the interaction through feedback from the educator can be a guide to getting the benefit out of practice in the skills lab.
Thank you for your post Anna
Mannahan,K.,Gray,J.(2015).Exploring students' perceptions of the connection between personal effort and academic performance.Georgia Educational Researcher 12(2). doi:10.20429/ger.2015.120202
(http Lore5a Gorecki
(h5ps: /chamberlain.instructure.com/courses/40415/users/66298)
Mar 21, 2019
Kristine and Anna,
I too used Finger Lakes Community College for my example. It was a very comprehensive skills guideline and covered all the questions for the second part of the case study. The skills policy really outlines in detail specifics on what the student can expect in terms of testing. I did find the option of one time additional testing to be very generous and a good last resort for a student with passing grades who may need that one last attempt to retry a skills lab exam. Given the student has a passing average and hasn’t utilized this resource before, they can retake a failed skills exam once. The school has outlined the importance of collaborative approach between the school and the student.
-Loretta
(http Kathleen Brewer (Instructor)
Mar 21, 2019
Dear Kristine:
Thanks for this nicely written post. I like the way the student is required to 'appeal' the grade when they fail and ask to be retested. By this I mean, it does put the obligation of being successful on the student; I suspect this would make them more apt to remediate to be successful in their retake of the exam. Great job.
Regards, Kathleen
(https:/ Lore5a Gorecki
(h5ps: /chamberlain.instructure.com/courses/40415/users/66298)
Mar 20, 2019
Professor and Class,
Case study part 2
Utilizing the Internet, I found the following skills policy for Finger Lakes Community College Nursing Program https://www.flcc.edu/pdf/nursing/policies.pdf (https://www.flcc.edu/pdf/nursing/policies.pdf) and will utilize their policy and procedure related to skills testing to complete the outlined questions for case study part 2.
1. Does the policy describe the number of times that a student may repeat a skills test? Per FLCC skills competencies the student registered in a NR100 class may attempt a skills lab 3 times prior to the specific deadline. Students registered in NR101&102 may be tested 2 times for each competency prior to the specified deadline.
2. Does the policy describe any remediation needed prior to a repeat of the skills testing? FLCC policy states, if a student fails a competency remedial practice with an instructor is recommended before a student attempts another competency. revised practice is to be done in groups not alone and instructor signature must be obtained per practice.
3. Does the policy describe the consequences of failing the skills testing? FLCC states, skills competency testing is considered an integral part of clinical evaluation. Failure to pass a skill competency within the allotted number of testing’s constitutes clinical failure.
4. Does the policy state how the skills testing will be evaluated (graded, pass/fail. Points assigned)? FLCC, does not state how the student will be graded, only that the student will be graded by the clinical instructor of the same course.
Reviewing FLCC policy, it appears they have in place opportunities for the failing student; Student having difficulty with skills examination. Additionally policy states that if a student fails after the 3rd attempt (NR 100) or after the 2nd attempt (NR 102 &
102) they have a 1 time additional testing option if the student meets the following criteria: the student has attempted the competency at least once prior to the specified deadline, the students academic average at time of testing is 74% or higher, the students clinical performance is satisfactory at time of failed competency and the student has NOT required additional testing for any other competency during the semester. Additional testing must be completed within one week of the original competency
due date. The school has outlined the importance of collaborative approach between the school and the student, with support for the failing student. “Sometimes students require a more focused support and planning to achieve required skills, competencies and confidence in practice” (Power & Albaradura, 2018 p. 615).
Power, A., & Albaradura, O. (2018). Supporting failing students: How collaboration is key. British Journal of Midwifery, 26(9), 615–617. https://doi.org/10.12968/bjom.2018.26.9.615
(http Kathleen Brewer (Instructor)
Mar 21, 2019
Dear Loretta:
I enjoyed reading your post and thank you for sharing. I am impressed with this policy as it is quite comprehensively written. Also, it seems that the retake of the failed exam is quite generous. Nicely written.
Regards, Kathleen
(http Natalie Sander
(h5ps: /chamberlain.instructure.com/courses/40415/users/64460)
Mar 22, 2019
Loretta,
I think it is great that if the student fails an exam that they have to remediate with an instructor. I also think its helpful for them to be done in groups. The instructor has valuable information and techniques that might help the student be more successful. The instructor is always the one grading the skills exam, so they can help to identify what they are looking for when the student is performing the skill. Some of the policies that I have read through do not require the student to remediate with anyone, they just suggest that the student practices on their own. I think that the student should do some more on their own time to practice the school, but I think it would be beneficial for the student to learn from the instructor. I think it is very important for the school to support the student, especially those who might be struggling. [Show Less]