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Julie Scholes

Publications and source records attributed to Julie Scholes.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2004

Making portfolios work in practice.

BACKGROUND: A portfolio captures learning from experience, enables an assessor to measure student learning, acts as a tool for reflective thinking, illustrates critical analytical skills and evidence of self-directed learning and provides a collection of detailed evidence of a person's competence. AIMS: This paper reports data on how assessors and nursing students match learning outcomes and/or competencies to their practice and then reconstruct those experiences into the format required by the portfolio documentation. The data were gathered as part of a larger study to evaluate the use of portfolios in the assessment of learning and competence in England. METHODS: This three phase stakeholder evaluation was designed to gain the views of those involved in designing, implementing and using portfolios in nurse education. In phase 2, 122 students and 58 nurse teachers were interviewed about their perceptions of portfolio use, and a further 32 students and 26 assessors were interviewed after they had been observed taking part in an assessment process. Thematic data analysis was used. FINDINGS: Assessors and students underwent a complex process of deconstructing learning outcomes/competences to fit these to their practice. These then had to be reconstructed through the written medium to fit the structure of the portfolio. Confirmation that this met teachers' expectations was essential to allay feelings of insecurity. CONCLUSIONS: To achieve maximum benefit from the portfolio as a learning tool to link theory and practice, there needs to be a clear fit between the model of portfolio and the professional practice that is to be assessed. Outcomes and competences, as well as the type of evidence required to demonstrate their achievement, and integration of the whole experience should match the students' stage of professional and academic development. Over-complex approaches to practice assessment, particularly in the early stages of students' careers, can detract from clinical learning in favour of learning how to complete the portfolio successfully.

Clinical Competence↗
PubMed2003

Evaluating portfolio assessment systems: what are the appropriate criteria?

PURPOSE: The purpose of this paper is to discuss how portfolio assessment processes should be evaluated. BACKGROUND: Articles in the nursing literature discuss the use of validity and reliability as criteria for evaluating portfolio assessment processes, and recommendations include tighter specification of grading criteria, a standardized national approach to assessing clinical competence in nursing students, and inter-rater reliability checks. On the other hand, some general practitioner educators suggest that these may not be the appropriate criteria because the nature of the evidence in portfolios is descriptive and judgement-based rather than quantifiable. METHOD: Drawing on multi-method case study data from a recent study evaluating the use of portfolios in the assessment of learning and competence in nursing education in England, we suggest that criteria developed to evaluate qualitative research may be more appropriate for evaluating portfolio assessment processes. DISCUSSION: Multiple sources of evidence from the varied perspectives of students, teachers, practice assessors and external examiners are tapped as part of the portfolio assessment process. Tripartite meetings between students, teachers and clinical assessors to review placements are crucial in verifying both the written evidence and students' ability to communicate and critically analyse their performance. The variety of evidence collected would potentially allow monitoring, using qualitative research evaluation criteria, both of the portfolios themselves and the systems by which they are monitored and evaluated. However, not all this information is collected consistently and systematically, as called for in curriculum documents. CONCLUSIONS: Use of qualitative research evaluation criteria offers a potentially productive way forward in evaluating portfolio assessment processes but some aspects of current practice need to be tightened, particularly double marking, internal moderation and external examining.

Clinical Competence↗
PubMed2003

Portfolios and assessment of competence: a review of the literature.

BACKGROUND: The literature review presented here was conducted as part of an English National Board for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting funded project to evaluate the use of portfolios in the assessment of learning and competence. Initial consideration of the topic revealed the need to clarify the terminology and approaches used to assess competence using portfolios, and therefore the literature review was conducted to inform the study. AIMS: To clarify definitions, theoretical bases and approaches to competence and the use of portfolios in the assessment of learning and competence in nursing education. METHODS: A comprehensive literature review was conducted using the CINAHL and MEDLINE databases and the keywords competenc*, portfolios and nursing. Articles published in the period 1989-2001 in English were obtained and their reference lists scrutinized to identify additional references. Twenty articles were found using a combination of the keywords competenc* and portfolios, and 52 using the combination portfolios and nurse education. Articles were included in the review if they focused on the use of portfolios in nursing, and those concerned with professional or transitional portfolios were excluded. This article will analyse definitions of and approaches to competence and its measurement and to portfolios and their use as discussed in the articles identified. RESULTS: Three approaches to competence were identified, each with its appropriate forms of assessment. With regard to portfolios, a number of definitions were again found, but there was a consensus that the theoretical basis of their use is theories of adult learning. A number of reasons for and advantages and disadvantages of their use were found, as well as varying ideas about what a portfolios should consist of and how it should be assessed. CONCLUSION: A holistic approach to competence seems to be compatible with the use of portfolios to assess competence in nursing students, but the concept and its implementation is still evolving. A variety of assessment methods are needed for assessment and portfolios appear to have the potential to integrate these. Reflection is an essential component of a portfolio, as are the student-teacher relationship and explicit guidelines for constructing the portfolio. Issues of rigour in assessment of portfolios need to be addressed, but the assessor's professional judgement will inevitably enter into this assessment.

Clinical Competence↗
PubMed2003

The reality of clinical learning in critical care settings: a practitioner:student gap?

* This article reports on the clinical phase of a study commissioned by the English National Board for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting to evaluate the effectiveness of educational preparation for critical care nursing [Scholes & Endacott (2002) Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Educational Preparation for Critical Care Nursing. ENB, London]. The authors draw on observation and interview data from clinical settings (general and paediatric intensive care units; operating theatre departments; accident and emergency departments and coronary care units), focusing specifically on the way in which curricular intentions were made a reality in clinical practice. The reality of learning in practice is examined, with evidence from the data to illustrate the real world of clinical practice. * Different models of support and supervision are identified, alongside strategies used to create different learning opportunities. The majority of students remained in their own workplace when undertaking the English National Board for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting clinical course. This raised a number of issues for the students and their colleagues which we have labelled the practitioner:student gap. The authors discuss the impact this has on supernumerary status, perceptions of learning and opportunities to undertake placements.

Clinical Competence↗
PubMed2002

Cross-boundary working: implications for the multiprofessional team.

This paper explores cross-boundary working and the impact it may have on the manner in which multiprofessional teams function. It draws on data collected for a study commissioned by the Department of Health, Human Resource Initiative entitled Evaluating New Roles in Practice (ENRiP). A series of case studies formed one part of the study that aimed to map the process of implementation of new roles in practice, identify the organizational barriers and levers that affected the implementation process and explore the meaning of the new roles from the perspective of postholders, patients and stakeholders. A naturalistic approach to enquiry was taken using a combination of participant observation, interviews and reflection. The article includes an overview of the current context in which cross-boundary work is developing, a review of current literature related to multiprofessional issues and team-working, a brief descriptions of the typology of new roles that emerged as one strand of the ENRiP study, and the impact that these roles had on both interprofessional and multiprofessional working. It concludes with a discussion of the implications for practice and the need to ensure that both education and policy are considered in planning for the future.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The practice competency gap: challenges that impede the introduction of national core competencies.

This paper reports the findings from a study commissioned by the English National Board for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting (ENB), entitled Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Educational Preparation for Critical Care Nursing. One aim of the study was to generate evidence that incorporated the national perspective on the priorities for core competencies and a national threshold standard of the ENB critical care clinical awards. Although these courses are no longer validated by the professional statutory body, the findings illuminate some key insights into the current challenges facing providers and consumers of critical care education as well as into implications for all post-registration education provision. The paper outlines how the study data were collected, how the core competendes were generated and the national consultation exercise and the levers and barriers that affect the introduction of core competencies. Other aspects of the study data are reported elsewhere (Scholes and Endacott, 2002).

Clinical Competence↗
PubMedDate not supplied

How to get published: seven easy steps.

As a professional group, nurses, whether as academics or practitioners, are increasingly expected to contribute to the development of quality nursing care and service provision by disseminating the findings of research, sharing innovations in clinical practice or examples of best practice. Yet, many individuals find it difficult to write informatively about their practice or to translate the outputs of academic studies into accessible publications. However, in most instances, a lack of confidence remains a key obstacle as is the lack of familiarity with processes required in preparing a paper for publication. The aim of this paper is to discuss a series of progressive steps that must be followed when preparing a paper for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. The main body of the paper provides a detailed analysis on the importance of deciding what to write about, selecting a suitable journal, organizing the content and structure of a paper and using appropriate language to make the article more accessible to the audience. The discussion also explores the concepts of authorship order, peer-review process and how to respond to written reviewer's comments once the paper has been returned by the publishers. The paper concludes by stressing that success requires undertaking the necessary preparatory work, time, commitment and enthusiasm.

Humans↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Organ and tissue donation: a trustwide perspective or critical care concern?

Organ donation has become an accepted practice within the critical care setting; however, tissue donation is seldom considered within the ICU environment and even less in other hospital departments. This study describes the results from an early base line audit performed as the first stage in a larger action research project following the implementation of the Donor Liaison Scheme in an NHS trust. It was designed to assess the current level of knowledge, confidence and value system staff have, working in all areas of the hospital setting in relation to organ and tissue donation. The results from this audit highlight key areas for practice development across all areas of this NHS trust. Many healthcare professionals working within this trust are unaware that donation can be considered. The respondents identified a lack of knowledge and confidence to be able to identify and discuss the options of donation with a family, yet the majority believe strongly that a person's wishes should be respected after death. People who have signed on the NHS ODR anticipate that healthcare professionals will access the ODR and support their family in following through their wishes; therefore, all healthcare professionals should receive education on donation issues as an integral part of bereavement and end of life decision training. Education strategies that adopt an experiential approach should be developed in order to create confidence in healthcare professionals to offer choice in donation options

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMedDate not supplied

An evaluation of the contribution of critical care outreach to the clinical management of the critically ill ward patient in two acute NHS trusts.

This paper reports on an evaluation of the role and contribution of outreach in the management of the critically ill ward patient using Stake's Responsive Model (Stake, 1975) and case study methodology (Simons, 1980). Twenty cases were examined, purposefully sampling all staff involved in the case identified by an initial interview with the outreach nurse. In total, 80 interviews were carried out, 20 with the outreach nurses and 54 with other members of health care teams involved in the cases, and six further targeted in-depth interviews with senior anaesthetic and nursing staff. The outreach contribution which emerged from the data analysis consisted of four core categories: action (getting things done, getting decisions made and following through), focus and vision (concentrating on one patient and having a vision of what action was needed to meet their care needs), orchestration (a communication and co-ordinating role) and expertise (bringing critical care skills and experience to the bedside). These categories were validated and developed in the six in-depth interviews. Three themes emerged from the data describing aspects of the acute care context in which outreach operates. The interviews revealed a battleweary workforce overwhelmed by the complex and increased demands of the critically ill ward patient. The medical and nursing teams at the bedside are inexperienced and often unsupported by senior clinical decision-makers. This is dealt with by 'passing the buck' creating gaps and delays in care management which are the problems addressed by the outreach contribution. Outreach may solve problems for the critically ill ward patient, but the underlying causes remain poorly understood.

Acute Disease↗