Guidelines for Mentors and Students The Ongoing Achievement Record (OAR)
What is the Ongoing Achievement Record (OAR)? The Ongoing Achievement Record (OAR) is a record of the student s learning experience that provides evidence to support achievement of NMC outcomes and competencies and where further support and supervision is required (NMC 2006). An OAR is the final interview in each Record of Practice Assessment (RoPA) document (see Appendix A). The student s OAR, including comments from mentors of strengths and areas for improvement, will be passed from one placement to the next for discussion with their named mentor. The purpose of the OAR is to assist the named mentor at the beginning of the placement to judge the students progress. The OAR will form part of the portfolio of evidence for the sign-off mentor to be able to confirm the student s proficiency in practice at the end of the programme. The OAR can identify a student who is not achieving in practice. Support from the Link Lecturer or the Practice Education Facilitator can be obtained and they may be involved in guiding the student s learning and in the Ongoing Achievement Record interview.
Student Responsibilities: The student - Must attend a practice placement with the appropriate RoPA document. Must attend with all completed OARs from previous placements in their portfolio wallet. Should agree with the mentor at the intermediate interview the proposed date when the OAR interview will be conducted. The date should be stated in the RoPA document. Should enter their name, name of the placement area, dates when placement started/finished, the Trust/Organisation name and the name of their mentor before the OAR interview is conducted.. Should consider before the OAR interview what they have learnt in the placement, what personal and professional strengths they have demonstrated, what clinical development needs they believe have been highlighted during their placement and any areas of practice that they are concerned about. These will be discussed at the OAR interview. Must complete the Student s comments section on the second page of the OAR.
Student Responsibilities: Must also tick in the appropriate section if any additional needs have been identified and appropriately supported if this is applicable, or tick as not applicable. Should indicate with a tick if the on-line Placement Evaluation Questionnaire has been completed or not completed. Must tick the Consent given to sharing of confidential data in assessing fitness to nurse if any additional needs have been identified and appropriately supported if this is applicable, or tick as not applicable. Is required to sign and dated the OAR on completion of the interview with the mentor. Should make a copy of the completed OAR before submission of the RoPA document to the Undergraduate office. Must place the copy of the completed OAR in their OAR portfolio wallet, which forms part of their Personal Professional Portfolio.
Mentor Responsibilities: The Mentor - Will require dedicated/uninterrupted time to complete the OAR interview and document with the student Is required to handwrite, using black ink, the first page of the OAR at the interview. Must write their comments in each section of the OAR. What the student has learnt/achieved in the placement, strengths demonstrated and areas that require development or improvement must be completed. Will provide constructive feedback to assist the student in future placements and facilitate their continuous professional development. Must not write in any section of the OAR not applicable. Should place a tick to indicate if the summative/formative learning outcomes have been achieved or not achieved. Must sign and date the completed OAR.
OAR Completion Guidelines: The following provides some suggestions of the type of comments that will assist the student and sign off mentor. Comment may be expressed in an objective manner or expressed as an opinion or perception where objective evidence is not available. MENTOR COMMENTS: What the student has learnt/achieved within the placement. Consider the RoPA learning outcomes whilst preparing your comments. The themes may remind you of practice based examples when the student has learnt or achieved new skills or gained further knowledge during the placement. The practice speciality/discipline may provide experience that is specific to the area. Consider what the student has been taught or situations they have met for the first time in the placement that have enabled them to demonstrated greater knowledge and develop their practice skills.
Examples: The following are exemplars and are not intended to be definitive statements. The student has learnt verbal and non-verbal communication skills during this placement i.e. listening to service users, using sign language, communicating with the multidisciplinary team. (If you are able to give a specific example that will strengthen the statement). (Name of student) has learnt the importance of maintaining professional standards, i.e. good time management skills, professional behaviour, commitment throughout the placement. The student has learnt appropriate documentation skills in relation to care planning, report writing, charting clinical findings, care records, referral documentation.
Areas of strength You may consider that the student has an outstanding strength that you wish to comment on, or you may identify several. Consider knowledge and/or practice skills where the student has shown a particular strength. Inter-personal skills i.e. communication with colleagues, service users, etc. Consider the student s progress through the placement. The strength may be an area of practice newly developed or an area where the student has demonstrated achievement at a higher level i.e. consideration of service user s fear, hurt, upset, exclusion or inclusion.
Examples: Having discussed at the intermediate interview learning areas to be addressed the student has fully engaged to achieve their learning goals. (Provide an example to demonstrate the goal has been achieved). (Name of student) is keen to learn and has an enquiring mind. She has fully embraced the learning opportunities that are available in this placement. (Learning opportunities that are universal or unique to the placement could be mentioned i.e. student has taken opportunities to work with occupational therapist, psychologist, dietician). The student has been active in identifying their personal learning needs i.e. organising a placement visit, observing/practicing clinical skills, etc. The student demonstrates an appropriate ability to use their own initiative within the context of client care. (Name of student) has been able to work with indirect supervision. (Activities undertaken with indirect supervision could be included i.e. preparation of room, records, bed area, admission of patient).
Areas to develop/improve (areas of concern if applicable): Professional development is continuous therefore constructive comments are helpful to the student. Consider any learning outcome that has not been achieved and reasons why that may have occurred. Development may be related to stage of programme reached or lack of exposure to practice experience. The practice opportunity may not have arisen during the placement. These comments will be essential for the student s future mentor.
Examples: (Name of student) needs to develop assertiveness skills when necessary. I recommend that Ann closely observes communication between the multi-disciplinary team members in her next placement. Advocacy skills develop with experience and I think that the student shows the foundation skills on which to build their expertise. The student must further develop the ability to recognise their own limitations and professional boundaries. I recommend they reflect on their experience with existing service users. (Name of student) has found taking blood pressures difficult on this placement and requires further development of both the theoretical and practical aspects of blood pressure. Although the appropriate action plans and support have been provided in relation to learning outcomes 10 and 12 the student has found it extremely difficult to attain the appropriate level required. Additional practice experience is required. The OAR has provided us with a new challenge and we would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the continuing support and commitment that you show to the pre-registration students.
STUDENT COMMENTS: Student comments should relate directly to the specific clinical experience and the opportunities available in the placement. Consider the type of service provided in the placement and specific client group who access the service, what was learnt, what was done well and what areas require further experience. Reflect on: Exposure to clinical situations not seen or participated in before. Constructive comments received from the mentor or other practitioners relating to your knowledge and skills. Skills learned in one area of practice that will be useful in another. Medical conditions that you met for the first time, or have increased your knowledge about, during the placement. Opportunities taken during the placement to work interprofessionally. Clinical skills that you have developed during the placement. Aspects of practice that you found difficult and the reason for this. Experience gained in relation to future employability paradigm
Examples: During my placement in elderly care I cared for serviceusers with dementia. By viewing the Alzheimers Society website I have learnt the main causes of dementia, signs and symptoms, how the condition progresses and the prognosis. My mentor on the Children s Ward identified that I have a tendency to talk to parents while ignoring the young patients. I have re-read the UNICEF Little Book of Children s Rights & Responsibilities to remind myself that children have the right to have their opinion taken into account. I aim to change my behaviour. Learning different ways that people with learning disabilities communicate will help me to convey information to adult patients more effectively using speech, written text, illustrations and visual cues. The Mental Health Mother and Baby Unit has provided an opportunity for me to learn about the care of women with postnatal-depression and puerperal psychosis. I want to continue to develop my knowledge on these conditions during future placements.
The opportunity to spend a day with an incontinence advisor has increased my knowledge of why incontinence occurs, what treatments are available and how to talk to patients affected, while maintaining their privacy and dignity. I have practiced administering intramuscular injection during my placement with the practice nurse. This has increased my confidence and reinforced techniques learnt in the skills lab. It would be helpful if I could continue to undertake further injections on my next placement. A patient on the medical ward had a cardiac arrest during my shift. After the event I found it difficult to speak to distressed patients who had witnessed the emergency care provided. I recognise that I need more experience in dealing with end of life care and bereavement counselling. The content of the OAR is important therefore if you seek further advice on the completion the link lecturer and/or practice education facilitator will be happy to assist you.
APPENDIX A ONGOING ACHIEVEMENT RECORD DEMONSTRATION OF COMPETENCY IN PRACTICE/PROFICIENCY Student s Name (Please Print):... Cohort...... Name of Placement :... Date:... Trust/Organisation:... Name of Mentor (Please Print):... Ongoing Achievement Record should be completed during the final days of the practice experience. The student and mentor meet together at the end of a placement to document strengths, development needs and any areas of concern. Mentor s Comments: What the student has learnt/achieved in the placement? Areas of strength: Areas to develop/improve:
All Summative Learning Outcomes (Mentor please tick) Achieved All Formative Learning Outcomes (Mentor please tick) Achieved Not Achieved Not Achieved Mentor:... Date:... Student s Comments: Any additional needs have been identified/appropriate supported (if applicable)? (Student please tick) Needs identified/supported Not applicable On-Line Placement Evaluation Questionnaire completed? (Student please tick) Completed Not completed Consent given to the sharing of confidential data in assessing fitness to nurse? (Student please tick) Needs identified/supported Not applicable Should a student NOT consent to the sharing of confidential data, then this would be incompatible with ensuring fitness for practice and therefore the student would be unable to meet the programme requirements (in this context nurse relates to student nurse) NMC Circular 33/2007. Student:... Date:... You MUST keep a photocopy of each Ongoing Achievement Record for your Personal Professional Portfolio. It is your responsibility to carry the document from placement to placement (NMC Circular 33/2007). Original documents will be retained by the University.