Draft educational standards for student nurses reveal that Mentors could be replaced by Educational Assessors.
The Nursing and Midwifery Council has announced a full consultation on the proposed changes to educational standards will start in June 2017.
The educational standards are the framework that Universities must follow for their graduates to gain entry on the NMC Register.
The draft educational standards from the Nursing and Midwifery Council also include a range of clinical skills such as; NG tube insertion, IV drug administration, catheterisation, ECGs, venepuncture, and blood transfusion administration.
It also reveals that elements of prescribing will be taught in pre-registration programmes. The NMC say this will be a “stepping stone to earlier access to gain prescribing qualifications after registration” but nurses would not graduate with prescribing rights.
The NMC has also proposed that simulation could be used for up to half of the 2,300 practice hours required to register. Controversially, this could mean student nurses spend less time on clinical placements.
Finally, there is a proposal to replace mentors with educational assessors and supervisors – meaning students could be supervised by any healthcare professional instead of limiting this to registered nurses.
You can view the current educational standards on the NMC website.
