When you go placement, there are a few things that nurses, particularly your practice assessor, expect of you and that’s exactly what we will be covering in the series: “What’s expected of you”
These series aims to help you understand practice assessors points of view when they’re assessing you, including what they’re looking for and ultimately, how you can successfully pass all your placements without going through unnecessary stress and anxiety. I’ve got you 😉
What are attitudes and values and why are they so important?
Attitudes (believes) and values can be defined as the basic structure that guides how individuals shape their opinions and make decisions (Hahn, 2024). The NMC hasn’t failed to acknowledge they’re significance on patient care and hence the standards of conduct and behaviour set out in The Code (NMC, 2018): Prioritise people, Practise effectively, Preserve safety and Promote professionalism and Trust.
You will soon get your PIN and us, practice assessors, need to be sure that you’re able to comply with The Code (NMC, 2018) before we sent you out there in the wild. We are not only responsible for you as a student, but as a future PIN holder that will have patient’s lives in your hands. We need to know that you practice in accordance with the 6C’s (care, communication, compassion, commitment, communication, competence and courage- NHS Professionals, 2025) and that your patients are safe with you.
Would you be happy to pass a student that is constantly late to placement, they’re uniform is messy, doesn’t seem to know much every time they’re asked a question, doesn’t demonstrate interest or initiative to learn, barely talks to and ignores patients, is rude to staff members and they’re colleagues, and practices outside they’re scope of practice? If your answer is “no”, ask yourself why. These are people’s lives we are talking about. These patients could be your granddad, your best friend’s mum, your favourite neighbour’s daughter- I think you get the point. Nevertheless, these kind of behaviours and attitudes don’t come from nowhere and we shouldn’t judge anyone for that. Nursing school is hard and people cope with it differently. We don’t know what people are going through and, as practice assessors, we should do everything we can to support you as much as possible and I really hope I speak for everyone when I say that we are here for you for whatever you need.
What do practice assessors expect of you?
We expect you to comply with The Code (NMC, 2018), but essentially we want you to:
1. Get to placement on time. Please please please because… why did all nurses come on time but you and I don’t mean once, twice or three times? 🥹
3. Look presentable. Clean and ironed uniform. Follow infection prevention and control policies which will depend on your clinical area but it should include hair up and off the collar (I know, I’m so sorry), adequate shoes (not Crocs- please don’t kill me) and no accessories but a small pair of stud earnings.
2. Be kind to and respectful of everyone. I don’t think this is too much to ask. You’d be surprised by the amount of students (and nurses for what is worth) who are not so nice.
3. Ask questions and show interest! A big one for me. We want to see that you’re keen to learn and that you’re invested in getting as much out of this placement as possible.
4. If you’re not too busy, ask if anyone needs help. This shows us that you’re a very good team player and that you’d rather not be doing anything than seeing others struggling. I’ve had so many nurses come to me to compliment my students for being so helpful and that makes me super proud of them for their work ethics.
5. Support other students. Be there for them.
References
Hahn, A. (2024). Attitudes, Beliefs and Values. EBSCO. Attitudes, Beliefs and Values | Research Starters | EBSCO Research
NHS Professionals. (2025). The 6 C’s of Care. NHS Staffing Pool Hub – Working in Healthcare – The 6 Cs of care | NHS Professionals
NMC. (2018). The Code. The Code