Roles and responsibilities of the Employer

Your organisation will have identified a named individual, employed by your organisation, who will act as the key contact point between the organisation and the university. These individuals often have an educational or managerial role in the employing organisation.

The Employer key contact will:

• Ensure the OU has access to the local mentor register in order to confirm mentor status
• Provide local information about changes to practice environments, which occur due to factors such as re-decoration, reconfiguration, change of service provision
• Confirm capacity for complementary experience. These are the extended periods of practice learning, which students complete away from their own workplace setting
• Ensure the organisation’s involvement in educational auditing
• Establish systems within the organisation to support student recruitment to the programme
• Address work related issues raised by managers, students, mentors or Programme Tutors, such as persistent breaches of a student’s supernumerary status or lack of any sign-off mentors within a practice area
• Guide the preparation of potential applicants to the OU pre-registration nursing programme
• Receive student-related monitoring information from the OU and liaise with the Staff Tutor Nursing regarding student progression issues.

Next section: Roles and responsibilities of the Staff Tutor / Staff Tutor Nursing