How to calculate clinical grade

[LilyRN99]

Hi, I'm a clinical instructor for a LPN program. We grade the student on various clinical aspects on a scale from 0-6. Categories such as professionalism, following Maslow's hierarchy, safety of actions with patients, recognizing diversity, recognizing abnormal vitals, ability to prioritize, critical thinking, etc. I usually have 8-10 students. I find it difficult to observe what each students is doing especially if I am passing meds with a student. So it is hard to grade them when I don't see the majority of their care. Then when I do determine a grade the students want me to explain why they got the score they did when I didn't watch them give the bed bath, do the head to toe assessment etc. Most finish their care and assessment while I am passing meds with one student. Any suggestions or tips would be appreciated.

[NotMyProblem MSN, ASN, BSN, MSN, LPN, RN]

I'm no instructor, never have been. But I have witnessed some instructors return to the patient (with the student who performed the task), and had the student described the steps taken, with the patient's input as validation whenever possible. Otherwise, I'd suggest having the students wait until meds were done...if that were possible.

We were checked off on giving baths to each other in the classroom lab. Privacy was definitely enforced then. Actually, we had to demonstrate proficiency with all tasks on manikins or each other first, before we were allowed to touch a patient. But that was in 1984. Maybe things have changed a bit.

[elkpark]

Have you asked the other instructors, or your superiors, in your program, how they do it? It's important that whatever you're doing be generally consistent with what the other instructors are doing.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Thread has been moved to the Nursing Educators / Faculty forum.

[WheatGerm]

Our instructors always had us perform the task with them watching, or went in to talk to the patient about the level of care. Even if our instructor was passing meds with a few students, she would either have us wait to do the assessment before watching us do it a second time (if the patient was amenable) or she would just make sure to watch us do it another week.

Personally I find some of those categories you mentioned hard to observe regardless of whether or not you were standing right next to the student! "Recognizing diversity"?? To me that would be something that is a bit hard to grade so good luck to you on that one!