Enhancing Population Health Experience for Nursing Students through an Indirect Supervision Model

Abstract

Abstract Background The 2018 Standards for Student Supervision and Assessment can make it difficult for Higher Education Institutions to fill national deficits in student placement capacity, especially in social care and the voluntary sector. The Indirect Placement Supervision and Assessment Model and its holistic focus helps redress this deficit. Methods A Microsoft Forms survey was distributed to a self-selecting sample of students, placement providers, and university staff, all of whom had been involved in indirect supervision as either an assessor, student, or supervisor. Results Three key themes emerged from the data collected; responses suggested that the model generated greater placement variety, increased placement capacity, and brought about reciprocal gains in the learner-supervisor matrix. Conclusion The data gathered indicates that the indirect model is a highly efficient means of providing holistic health and social care-based placements for pre-registrants. It likewise indicates that the model firmly aligns with the future-oriented focus of the new NHS Long Term Workforce Plan. We subsequently recommend that uptake of the model continues at pace.