Learning in the workplace: Development of a simple language statement assessment tool that supports second-level nurse practice

Aim: To focus learning through clarity of the enrolled nurse (EN) role (a second tier nurse position) through development of a user-friendly workplace performance assessment tool commensurate with EN standards for practice. Background: Internationally, the nursing workforce comprises regulated and unregulated staff. In Australia, similar to other western countries, there are two tiers of regulated workforce, namely Registered Nurses (RNs) and Enrolled Nurses (ENs). Differences in RN and EN standards based on the education preparation are not always clearly differentiated in workplace practice. Roles are often seen as interchangeable: Improved clarity of both regulated and unregulated roles, when numbers of healthcare workers are burgeoning, assists performance assessment that guides further learning and safe practice. Design: Two phase sequential, non-experimental design. Methods: Phase one used focus groups (n=48), expert reference panel (n=8) and end-users (n=16) to develop simple language statements. Phase two involved field testing of the statements. Findings: A 30-item, criterion-based workplace performance tool was developed. Principal component analysis of completed tools indicated work could be organised around three key areas of practice, namely, higher order thinking and problem solving, routine daily activities of care and personal and social attributes. Discussion: Participants reported the statement items assisted in determining suitable activities and accompanying cues in discussing learning needs. Analysis assisted with discriminating broader elements of EN workplace performance. Conclusions: Workplace learning is important for nurses to continue to build their capacity to deliver optimum care. Assessment tools that describe professional capability in plain language statements and provide examples of supportive behavioural cues help guide on-going learning through improving the validity and thereby consistency of assessment processes. Furthermore, comprehensible and meaningful statements and cues can readily be adopted by students and educators to target learning and feedback thereby enhancing clarity of the EN role, to distinguish from other nursing roles.