Student/Staff Partnerships
Title and contact details (name and email) of project lead
Dr Jacqueline McCallum
Senior lecturer, department of Nursing and Community Health
0141 331 3068
[email protected]
WHAT?
Current NHS reconfiguration, the increased demands of an all graduate profession, and
changes to the practice learning experiences that emphasise inter professional learning
recognises that as a nursing profession we need to consider alternatives to the present
system of providing nursing students with practice experience. There is a greater
emphasis on the student following the service user journey in the spirit of individualised
client focused care, as well as building interpersonal relationships between student and
mentor to maximise learning opportunities.
SO WHAT?
The Hub and Spoke model for practice learning experience on the undergraduate
nursing programmes at Glasgow Caledonian University was implemented in September
2013. The key characteristic of the GCU model is that the student is allocated to a
practice learning area for an extended duration which can range from six weeks to three
years. This is termed the ‘hub’ practice learning experience. Following negotiation the
student then may go to a number of secondary or ‘spoke’ practice learning
environments. These spokes may be anything from a single visit to a more prolonged
period depending on the learning needs of the student.
Student evaluation of this model took place after first year which found thatThe hub and spoke model is an effective and efficient practice learning model for pre
registration nursing programmes. It is associated with positive student outcomes in
terms of belongingness, person centred care, clinical skills, and professional role
development. It generates a sense of inclusiveness and ownership for practice staff and
the student in the process of developing practice learning experiences as they can be
more involved in the development of learning experiences, promote effective sharing of
learning, and develop a robust evaluation of student performance over time which will
promote valid and reliable measurement of competence by the end of the student
journey.
Overall, findings from the hub and spoke cohort provide encouraging indications that
person-centeredness has been embraced by these first-year nursing students, with
multiple illustrations of how their learning around this quality ambition has been nurtured
within their practice learning experience areas.
NOW WHAT? (consider what you would stop, start or continue)
Students are now entering year 3 of the programme using this model of practice
learning. Evaluation continues to be positive, both from the mentor and the student
nurse. Evaluation will continue, especially from students who complete the programme
in September 2015.