Consultation to review clinical placement processes: A quality assurance project

Aim: Working in partnership is a key goal for nursing and community health practice. This case study reports the quality assurance process employed to enhance the process of allocating clinical places for postgraduate Maternal and Child Health nurses in Victoria, Australia. Background: The review of the clinical placement process occurred because councils (placement providers) reported being overwhelmed with inquiries and applications for places, time-line issues and some confusion about processes. This situation was further compounded as these clinical placements were provided by Councils at no cost to universities or students. Design: The Quality Assurance consultation process was guided by an action research approach and systematically explored the experience of municipalities hosting students. Method: This involved five discrete phases: Online survey 1, Focus group, Draft consultation report, Online survey 2 and Distribution of Maternal and Child Health clinical placement process packages. Feedback was reported regarding what was working well, challenges with existing student placements and suggested strategies to improve the student placement process. Results: Collaboration led to improvements in the clinical placement process and produced key resources for stakeholders. An unexpected outcome of the process was the development of a List of Expectations and Responsibilities for all stakeholders. Conclusion: The councils providing MCH clinical experience are highly valued by the universities and their students as clinical placement is provided voluntarily as a contribution to the MCH profession. All parties indicated it was very beneficial to collaborate to optimise this process.