Roles and responsibilities

Introduction

This section examines the roles and responsibilities of a range of staff, all of whom are involved to a greater or lesser extent in supporting student nurses on the OU programme. Some of the titles given to these staff are unique to the OU programme so take time to become familiar with these and the associated roles and responsibilities. The section concludes by exploring the roles and responsibilities of the student nurses themselves.

The Open University holds two underpinning beliefs that are specific to learning in practice. Firstly, accountability and responsibility for practice learning are shared by the student, the employer and the university. Secondly, learning in practice is a fundamental activity, crucial to effective health care practice and a positive client and patient health care experience.

Outcomes

At the end of this part of the induction you should be able to:

•  identify and know the responsibilities of those staff who work most closely with the students
•  recall the roles and responsibilities of other staff who also support the students
•  advise students who to contact in relation to a variety of different situations

Next section: Support for student nurses on the OU degree programme