The purpose of this essay is to explore the usefulness of an innovation in practice; the innovation I feel would be helpful to both students and mentor is a learning log. In order to demonstrate its worth I am going to link the innovation to three of the learning outcomes. The three I have chosen are the development of effective relationships between mentor and student, methods of assessment and ………………………each will be discusses separately. I am currently working as a theatre recovery nurse, I have been qualified for just over a year and so I feel I am still very aware of how it feels to be a student and can relate to many problems they face but now can also see things from a nurse in practice point of view.
There is clear guidance from the Nursing …show more content…
This is why I have decided to devise a learning log. The student would be required to have the learning log with them on each shift so when they were not working with their main mentor, each day it would be the student’s responsibility to ask who ever had been the filling in for their mentor that day to complete. The main mentor could then look at the learning log and have a good idea of the student’s capabilities, achievement, strengths and areas for further development and would make it more easily identifiable if a student was failing rather that the mentor thinking their teaching may not be effective. It may also be useful in ensuring that their mentor is spending enough time with the student as currently there is no way of keeping track of the time spent together in …show more content…
Prince (2005) identifies that mentors and students often start of as strangers but develop a working relationship within a short period of time, not one necessarily of close friendship. Given that the mentor will need to assess and judge the student’s performance is important that the relationship remains professional rather than friendly. In addition Price (2005) adds that mentors needs to have an understanding that the student is in an unfamiliar environment and is likely to have anxieties about what people’s expectations of them are. Mentors can help by being friendly, enthusiastic and showing an interest in their learning needs (Price, 2005). Wilkes (2006) agrees that mentors need to be supportive and unbiased, recognising that a mentor with the right skills, attitude and qualities is more important than the learning environment itself. However in Wilkes experience relationships often become too personal and this can lead the mentor to be not raising concerns about a student’s performance. This raises the issue of “Failing to Fail”. There have been many studies to show that mentors have been passing students that they felt should not have passed the placement, this will be discussed later. I agree with Freiberg & Rogers (1994) that learning is most effective when mentors act in a genuine
There is clear guidance from the Nursing …show more content…
This is why I have decided to devise a learning log. The student would be required to have the learning log with them on each shift so when they were not working with their main mentor, each day it would be the student’s responsibility to ask who ever had been the filling in for their mentor that day to complete. The main mentor could then look at the learning log and have a good idea of the student’s capabilities, achievement, strengths and areas for further development and would make it more easily identifiable if a student was failing rather that the mentor thinking their teaching may not be effective. It may also be useful in ensuring that their mentor is spending enough time with the student as currently there is no way of keeping track of the time spent together in …show more content…
Prince (2005) identifies that mentors and students often start of as strangers but develop a working relationship within a short period of time, not one necessarily of close friendship. Given that the mentor will need to assess and judge the student’s performance is important that the relationship remains professional rather than friendly. In addition Price (2005) adds that mentors needs to have an understanding that the student is in an unfamiliar environment and is likely to have anxieties about what people’s expectations of them are. Mentors can help by being friendly, enthusiastic and showing an interest in their learning needs (Price, 2005). Wilkes (2006) agrees that mentors need to be supportive and unbiased, recognising that a mentor with the right skills, attitude and qualities is more important than the learning environment itself. However in Wilkes experience relationships often become too personal and this can lead the mentor to be not raising concerns about a student’s performance. This raises the issue of “Failing to Fail”. There have been many studies to show that mentors have been passing students that they felt should not have passed the placement, this will be discussed later. I agree with Freiberg & Rogers (1994) that learning is most effective when mentors act in a genuine