English - the European Oncology Nursing Society

Lifelong LearningMentoring and Personal Development Planning in Health CareAlison Rhodes, Director of Studies – Learning and Teaching Framework, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, Division of Healthand Social Care, University of Surrey, Guildford, SurreyI was delighted to be asked to make a presentation at the EONSeducational event earlier this year, on topics that are my passion –mentorship and development.My motivation in these areas began some 20 years ago whilstworking as an Intensive Care Unit Sister, where pre-registration andpost registration students were placed to gain clinical experience.Through this time, I found myself experimenting with creative waysto not only develop the student’s knowledge and understanding butto also support them to not be fearful of such a high technologicalenvironment. It seemed so natural to facilitate development throughmentorship, and in fact, my mentorship role was and still is anexciting challenge and one that continues today. My enthusiasmfor these concepts led to my research in development and personaldevelopment planning (PDP), where I became interested in theconcept of the Learning Organisation and the provision of supportwithin the workplace for learning and development.My learning journey has culminated in my role as Director of Studiesfor the Learning and Teaching framework, which caters for thepreparation of mentors, practice teachers and qualified teachersat both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. In developing theframework, a curriculum was designed based on the Nursing andMidwifery Council’s (NMC) Standards (2006) which highlighted areasof responsibility and accountability through four stages (figure 1),relating to supporting learning and assessment in practice.Figure 1 – Stages identified within the standards (NMC 2006,Standards to Support Learning and Assessment in Practice [updated2008])STAGE 1STAGE 2STAGE 3STAGE 4ASSOCIATE MENTORMENTORPRACTICE TEACHERQUALIFIED TEACHER(NMC 2006)The framework was developed as an escalator (figure 2) withmentorship at undergraduate level, leading to the practice teacherand the qualified teacher at postgraduate level.Figure 2The underpinning philosophy (figure 3) of this framework was buildaround the concept of development. A new philosophical curriculummodel was designed (six-dimensional multi-faceted module ofdevelopment [Rhodes 2006]) integrating theory and practice in aprogressive way encouraging independence, motivation and criticalthinking.Figure 3 - PhilosphyAs highlighted on figure 3, the student is considered to be centralto this philosophical approach, giving an opportunity to explore pastexperiences, knowledge and aspirations.The majority of students enter the framework at stage 2 - thementorship module, where they are required to complete a PDP inthe form of a Learning and Development Plan. This plan takes thestudent through a number of activities primarily to explore their skillsin mentoring but to also explore the complexities of mentorshipthrough the integration of the concepts of teaching, learning andassessment in practice, leading to a practitioner who can assistothers on their journey of learning.The mentorship module has proved to be a very successful module- its strength lies in the positive relationship between students,practice colleagues and teachers, with very strong links to clinicalpractice, enhancing a journey of lifelong learning.References and further reading:Gopee N. (2008) Mentoring and Supervision in Healthcare. SagePublications, London.Nursing and Midwifery Council (2008) Standards to support learningand assessment in practice (2 nd edn.) [online] Nursing and MidwiferyCouncil, London. Available from: http://www.nmc-uk.org/aFrameDisplay.aspx?DocumentID=4368Quinn F. & Hughes S. (2007) Quinn’s Principles and practice of nurseeducation (5 th edn.) Nelson Thornes, Cheltenham.Rhodes A.K. (2006) Learning and Teaching for Professional PracticeCurriculum Document University of SurreyWest S., Clark T. & Jasper M. (2007) Enabling Learning in Nursingand Midwifery Practice: a guide for mentors. John Wiley & Sons,Chichester.- newsletter fall 20088