Exploring student's perceptions and experience of personal tutors
Introduction
The learning and support experienced by student nurses are pivotal to ensuring that nursing students are fit for practice and can deliver high quality nursing care. However, it is well documented that undergraduates encounter many challenges during their studies, and for some this may mean contemplating leaving their programmes (Cooke et al., 2004, Fowler and Norrie, 2009). Whilst there may be no panacea to the challenges that students face, providing effective high quality student support is undoubtedly critical, and the role of the personal tutor is central to the support systems that higher educational institutes offer. There are a variety of provisions to support pre-registration nursing students whilst they engage with the theoretical and practical elements of their course. The allocation of students to a named personal tutor has been identified as one method of addressing these needs (Gidman et al., 2000). In the UK Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) employ a personal tutoring system for pre-registration students as stipulated by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) (2004), in which students are allocated a registrant i.e. nurses tutor (from the same part of the register) to support their learning in both academic and practice environments throughout their course; however, this model of support may not be used in HEIs outside the UK. Widening access to students from backgrounds not traditionally associated with higher education has necessitated a review of the personal tutor system, as potential students may not be equipped with the academic skills to meet the demands of higher education. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the findings of a study that set out to explore student nurses' experiences of personal tutoring in one UK HEI.
Section snippets
Background and literature review
As HEIs in the UK, Australia and the USA address major policy drivers of widening and increased participation set out by current government policies (Higher Education Funding Council for England, 2009, Higher Education Opportunity Act, 2008, Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR), 2009), and at a time of increasing focus on attrition rates, the need for student support could not be greater. Moreover, with attrition rates running as high as 28% in the UK (Nursing
Research design
The purpose of this study was twofold. Firstly, to explore the concept of the personal tutor's role from the pre-registration students' perspective, and secondly to contribute to the evidence base for supporting student nurses, contributing ideas for good practice guidelines which would seek to improve student progression and retention. This study utilized both qualitative and quantitative methods and was conducted in two phases. The first phase consisted of a pilot involving focus groups to
Response rate
A total of 32 adult diploma students agreed to take part in three focus groups. A total of 447 students (n = 447) completed and returned the self-report questionnaire, of these 121 were degree and 326 were diploma students out of a potential target population of 929. The response rates varied across programme and branch ranging from 30 to 79%, achieving an overall response rate of 48%. This in part can be attributed to the number of students in attendance on the day the questionnaire was
Discussion
Overall the majority of students appeared to have a positive relationship with their personal tutor and were generally satisfied with the level of support and advice that they received but not all their learning needs were met.
Conclusion
This study has provided a valuable addition to the dearth of literature on students' perspective of personal tutoring, providing knowledge of both positive and negative experiences, and some clear areas for improving the supportive environment where students can consult with peers and compare experiences. It would seem that from the students' perspective further consideration needs to be given to multi-faceted personal tutor role in pre-registration education. This may not only enhance the
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank all the students who participated in this research study for their time and effort and to Conor Lomas for his invaluable support in the data analysis.
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2019, Nurse Education TodayCitation Excerpt :It is this sense of belonging that was evident in Ross et al.'s (2014) thematic analysis of the personal tutor role, which incorporated creating a sense of security, a sense of community and a sense of purpose. Braine and Parnell (2011), for example consider the personal tutor role as not only being important in maximising student achievement, but they also identify the complexities of the multi-layer environment nursing has in meeting the requirements for academia, registration and practice, for which the pastoral role is ideally suited in managing and supporting. The personal tutor role aside, it is the notion of pastoral care for which Laws and Fiedler (2012) suggest is espoused within either an amateur or professional role – a finding from Earwaker's (1992) work, when translated into higher education, identifies the role of the lecturer in supporting learning and how they should behave within this context.
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2019, Nurse Education in PracticeCitation Excerpt :In addition to being a professional role model, the PT is, according to our students, someone who can help them to become a better person by reflecting on their own behavior (FG_S_1:6; FG_S_2:7). In this context, Warne and McAndrew (2008) and Braine and Parnell (2011) regard personal tutoring as a space in which students can feel safe in expressing their feelings, thus allowing the tutor to act as a catalyst of the student's personal development. In order for this to be possible, however, the PT must be an honest (Berk et al., 2005) and empathic person (FG_S_1:8; FG_S_2:9).
The lived experience of first year undergraduate student nurses: A hermeneutic phenomenological study
2018, Nurse Education TodayNursing students’ perception of academic support in the practicum: Development of a reliable and valid measurement instrument
2017, Journal of Professional NursingCitation Excerpt :Regarding peers, the two types of support perceived are informative and emotional, thereby coinciding with studies by Mazer and Thompson (2011a), Thompson and Mazer (2009), Thompson (2008) and Aston and Molassiotis (2003), in which support types are considered as the most substantive in the students' assessment. Regarding support types attributed to Academic Institution, both instrumental support (provision of material or temporary resources or services) and emotional support (personal tutors, practicum coordination, academic coordinators, lecturers, etc.) are set in line with the resources belonging to the academic structures (Braine & Parnell, 2011; Chan, So, & Fong, 2009; Price, Hastie, Duffy, Ness, & McCallum, 2011; Weitzel & McCahon, 2008). These results corroborate the usefulness of this tool considering the lack of instruments to evaluate academic support for college students, and its presence in the specific context of the practicum.
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