Subjectivity and the valid assessment of pre-registration student nurse clinical learning outcomes: Implications for mentors

SummaryThis discussion, supported by the author’s personal reflections as a mentor and teacher, examines the issue of subjectivity when assessing the competence of pre-registration nursing students during their clinical placements. A difference is highlighted between valid and invalid subjectivity affecting the quality of mentors’ assessments. Valid subjectivity refers to situations where students and mentors enter into a contract of trust and commitment from the outset of placement learning, enabling the ‘substantiated’ opinion of mentors to become a credible part of proficiency assessment. Invalid subjectivity presupposes that there has been limited investment in the student/mentor relationship and that assessment is therefore more reliant on the ‘unconfirmed’ views of mentors. Humanistic approaches to evaluating student learning are explored and a question is posed as to whether the trustworthiness of subjective assessment is improved when there is a sense of mutual reciprocity between students and mentors. Particular reference is made to reflective practice in adding meaning to this connection. Finally, an example of holistic assessment during ‘live’ clinical supervision involving a student and this author is offered ( Table 1), in order to illustrate the implications for mentors attempting to enhance subjective evaluation of student learning.