Blog 012: Evaluating Non-Traditional Clinical Practicums Implemented in 2021
- Did you see the need to redesign your clinical evaluation tools and if so, please give examples?
- Nicole - Clinical evaluation tools are as varied as the nursing programs that use them. Many programs have competency-based clinical evaluation tools, and generally did not redesign the tools as many competencies are able to be met in alternative learning environments such as simulation or virtual simulation.
- Kim - I agree completely. At my program, we did not need to revise our evaluation tools as they are competency based and worked for the alternate environment. We did add an additional layer of evaluation, more subjective, on the student’s perspective of the experience and how it compared to their previous experience if applicable.
- Do you have any recommendations on how to evaluate those soft skills?
- Nicole - There are many valid and reliable tools available that assess a wide variety of soft skills such as empathy, therapeutic communication, and interculturalism. It really depends on the specific skill that you are looking at evaluating. At my institution, we are creating an app to develop cognitive empathy skills. This app provides instruction, practice, a score and feedback on their ability to engage in perspective taking, with the most valuable aspect being feedback from the simulated (standardized) patient. While I know this does not completely answer your question, it is because there is no singular approach to teaching and evaluating soft skills.
- Kim - I agree, there are many valid and reliable tools. I also agree that those tools are as varied as the program that uses them and the skill they are trying to evaluate. At our University every undergraduate nursing student takes a course in their first term related to the obtainment of those skills along with Social and Emotional Learning elements that are then threaded throughout the program and evaluated.
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