Clinical Evaluation Ideas Please

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Our school has gone to competency based nursing. We have developed 5 competencies with sub elements to each competency. Students must pass each competency in order to pass the quarter. We are wondering if there is any school that does something simular. Our problem is how do we grade to keep the competency grading as objective as possible (we give a letter grade, not pass/fail). Right now I believe to much of the grade is related to writing ability and subjective analysis. Any suggestions?

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If you give a letter grade for clinical rotations, then the competencies have to be measurable and objective enough to evaluate. This is hard to do and a lot of work for the instructor. We give letter grades for the lecture portion of the course and pass/fail for the clinical. However, the objectives for clinical must be met. They include attendance, attitude, dress code, being prepared, etc. I can recommend two texts that are beneficial:

Evaluation and Testing in Nursing Education by Oermann and Gaberson (ISBN 08261995X). They have 1-2 chapters on clinical evaluation.

Teaching in Nursing: A Guide for Faculty by Billings and Halstead (sorry, don't have the ISBN in front of me).

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Specializes in Gerontological, cardiac, med-surg, peds.

We use competencies for our clinical grades, which increase in difficulty (according to Bloom's) with each semester of our ADN program. Please PM me your address and I will be glad to send you a complete copy of our school's competencies by snail mail.

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Thank you for the responses to my question. I will follow up to each response. Any further words of advise much appreciated.

If you give a letter grade for clinical rotations, then the competencies have to be measurable and objective enough to evaluate. This is hard to do and a lot of work for the instructor. We give letter grades for the lecture portion of the course and pass/fail for the clinical. However, the objectives for clinical must be met. They include attendance, attitude, dress code, being prepared, etc. I can recommend two texts that are beneficial:

Evaluation and Testing in Nursing Education by Oermann and Gaberson (ISBN 08261995X). They have 1-2 chapters on clinical evaluation.

Teaching in Nursing: A Guide for Faculty by Billings and Halstead (sorry, don't have the ISBN in front of me).

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Specializes in MS Home Health.

Let me chew on this tonight and I will post some thoughts tomorrow.

renerian

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