Nurse mentors' experiences with suitability assessments in clinical placement: A qualitative study

This study aims to explore mentors' experiences with assessing the suitability of nursing students in clinical placements in a context where suitability assessment is required by law.

It is the schools' responsibility to assess students, but mentors play an important role when students are in clinical placements. Clinical placements are typical arenas for assessing suitability.

An explorative qualitative study METHODS: Participants were 17 registered nurses with experience as mentors for nursing students in clinical placement. The participants represented somatic and surgical wards from three different hospitals in Norway. Individual, semi-structured interviews were conducted.

The analysis revealed a total of four themes: 1) the understanding of suitability, 2) experiencing borderline performance, 3) the heavy responsibility of doing the assessment and 4) the importance of support.

The mentors found it difficult to assess suitability. They reported having little or no knowledge about leading rules and guidelines. The mentors experienced support from their colleagues, something which lightened the burden of assessing the students. This study indicates that mentors need more information about suitability and suitability assessments.

To be included in abstract after acceptance.