21 May 2004
Student nurses who are not up to the job are still passing their courses because some examiners are too frightened to fail them, according to the Nursing and Midwifery Council.
The body, which regulates nurse training, says many students are 'given the benefit of the doubt' and allowed to work in the profession even when they have performed badly during training.
Its report says senior nurses, or mentors, often allow students' personal problems to influence performance evaluations. The report also says course lecturers are partly to blame for not preparing students properly before they go on the wards.
The author of the report, Kathleen Duffy of Glasgow Caledonian University, said: 'Preparing mentors for their role and responsibility in a fail scenario is vital and must be backed up with adequate support from both education and practice.'
PFmay2004
