Introduction

The first step for effective practice is to reflect on one’s own state of mind and consider the emotional climate. Good practice education should look the same with all students, and so the strategies detailed in this chapter should be applied to all students. The strategies, however, are particularly important for students on placement experiencing difficulties that are serious enough to indicate that the student is at potential risk of failing the placement. The chapter begins with a consideration of the role of the practice educator, with all its ambiguities and complexities. It also considers the role of the tutor, as well as the roles and responsibilities of the student. The chapter goes on to document a range of positive strategies, such as ‘courageous conversations’, creative approaches to the task of practice education, assessment strategies, effective use of action planning and report writing. It then considers the research evidence about why practice educators might be reluctant to fail students in practice learning settings; as knowing why something happens means we are more alert to the possibilities, namely, avoiding failing the student. The chapter then moves on to consider the strategies used by practice educators who are able to fail students without experiencing distressing levels of emotionality. Lastly, it explores issues such as the fair and transparent assessment of students and working in positive, non-discriminatory ways.

The role of the practice educator

In all practice teaching and learning situations, it is important to have a clear sense of one's role and responsibilities, as a lack of clarity leads to difficulties for everyone. Chapter One explored the numerous functions within the overall role of practice educator, and readers were asked to consider in the learning check exercise how they managed to bring together all these tasks within the overall role. An examination of the literature revealed that the notion of gatekeeper was missing from the roles discussed in the literature.