Designing for quality experiences and outcomes.

Abstract

To know whether something as complex as a programme of nurse education is successful we have to determine what ‘success’ looks like and then seek evidence to judge its worth. Whilst this may sound straightforward, those with an interest in the quality of nurse education - students, healthcare providers, commissioners, professional bodies, academics, patients, the university and the wider public - will each have their own, quite legitimate, perspective on success. Success to a student may mean good academic support and achievement, to a patient it may mean developing the competence and compassion for care, to healthcare providers it could mean readiness for employment within an evolving service, and to professional bodies it will mean the students’ proficiency and fitness to practise for professional registration. Whilst these perspectives on success are not mutually exclusive they do require education providers to design programmes that can evolve over the duration of their validation, accreditation or licensing period in order to maintain contemporaneousness, to draw on a range of data sources to evaluate learning quality within University and practice placements, and to demonstrate performance metrics that communicate the programme’s worth. The worth of a programme is increasingly judged on the basis of value for money. Across the world, most higher education students take out government-funded loans or rely on family support and incur significant financial debt in order to complete their programmes, and hence there is expectation that programmes will lead directly to better pay graduate employment. There is also a highly competitive higher education market internationally and within most developed nations, and therefore the issue of designing for quality experience and outcomes takes on greater significance in order to ensure that degree programmes stand out from the crowd and are an applicant’s first choice. This chapter takes the reader on a journey exploring the different dimensions of quality and the measures that can be used to evaluate the student’s learning experience, progress, achievement and outcomes. It will consider the most effective governance arrangements, exploring international perspectives that ensure internal programme coherence as well as the confidence of external stakeholders, which include the public as well as employers. By drawing on contemporary international evidence and experience of those leading in the field of nurse education, this chapter will help the reader understand the importance of quality whilst also recognising its value in achieving a competitive edge.