New placement app launched for student nurses in Scotland

The digital tool, unveiled this month by NHS Education Scotland (NES), has been piloted by nursing students at the University of Dundee.

“e-Pad rather than the paper pad means that students on virtual placements can be supported too”

Morag Robertson

Named e-Pad (electronic placement assessment documents), the app has been developed by NES Technology Services in collaboration with the NES nursing and midwifery pre-registration and practice education team.

The e-Pad app replaces a 350-page paper version of the pad and can be used on a laptop or mobile devices.

Nursing students can log in and electronically record all their practice learning progress and achievement outcomes throughout their placements, as well as log feedback from extra learning opportunities.

The app also provides functions for updating mandatory learning and uploading documents into a student’s personal library.

Educators can also log into the app to review,  feedback on and sign off student submissions.

Currently, according to Nursing and Midwifery Council standards, students must undertake 2,300 practice learning hours, of which a maximum of 600 hours can be simulated practice learning.

Julie Smith, practice learning  lead at the University of Dundee, said: “The convenience of e-Pad has been welcomed by our students who previously had to carry around huge folders of paperwork on their nursing placements.

“Likewise staff have commented on the benefits of being able to easily review and provide feedback to students during their placements.”

Meanwhile, Morag Roberston, senior product manager at NES Technology Service, said: “It captures evidence which supports skills, procedures and proficiencies demonstrated during a student placement and retains standardised wording required by the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

“Feedback has been extremely positive, a big plus is that e-Pad rather than the paper pad means that students on virtual placements can be supported too.”