clinical practicum midwifery education outcome and process assessment professional practice experience program accreditation quality assurance
Problem
In Australia, program accreditation requirements include that education providers monitor and evaluate teaching and learning environments and provide evidence of outcomes being used to inform program quality improvement. Yet, closing this loop has proven challenging.
Background
The Australian National Placement Evaluation Centre (NPEC) functions to measure the quality of placements through student evaluations. One measure the Placement Evaluation Tool (PET) had not been tested in midwifery student cohorts.
Aim
To confirm the validity and reliability of the Placement Evaluation Tool (PET) for midwifery.
Design
Survey instrument development.
Methods
A three-phase, sequential study involving seven Australian universities and students enrolled in entry level midwifery programs.
Findings
The Content Validity Index (CVI) was > 0.90 for relevance and clarity. There was strong concurrent validity between the PET-Midwifery and the MidSTEP CLE scale [r = 0.503, p = 0.01]. Overall satisfaction with placements was high (mean 8.02/10). The PET-Midwifery was found to be reliable: Cronbach's alpha 0.957 with an Intraclass Correlation Co-efficient of 0.957.
Discussion
The PET – Midwifery is valid and reliable for midwifery students to evaluate the quality of midwifery practice placements. Administered through the Australian National Placement Evaluation Centre, it is feasible that this tool will allow education providers to monitor and evaluate learning environments and use this information to inform program quality improvement.
Conclusion
The PET – Midwifery can offer education providers and midwifery practice placement settings with valuable information to effectively close all evaluation loops, as required for accreditation and to help enhance the quality of midwifery practice education.
Details
Title
Confirming the validity and reliability of the Placement Evaluation Tool to evaluate midwifery practice placements (PET-Midwifery)
Authors
Fiona Bogossian (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Health
We acknowledge the Australian National Placement Evaluation Centre (NPEC) - owned by Health Education Services Australia and funded by the Councill of Deans of Nursing and Midwifery (Australia and New Zealand) and the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council.
Organisation Unit
School of Health; School of Nursing, Midwifery and Paramedicine - Legacy