NHS Education Scotland (NES) has unveiled a digital app that allows nursing students to electronically record the progress of their practice learning and outcomes throughout their placements.
Named e-Pad (Electronic Placement Assessment Documents), it has been developed by the NES Technology Service (NTS) and the NES nursing and midwifery pre-registration and practice team, and has been piloted by nursing students at the University of Dundee.
A spokesperson said that NES is in discussion about the roll out of the app to other universities with nursing courses.
The e-Pad app replaces a 350-page paper version of the PAD and can be used on a laptop or mobile devices via the Turas learning and management platform for health and social care.
Students can log learning outcomes and evidence, along with feedback from extra learning opportunities.
The app also provides functions for updating mandatory learning and uploading documents into a student’s personal library, and enables educators to review, provide feedback and sign off student submissions.
Capturing evidence
Morag Robertson, senior product manager at NTS, said: “The e-Pad app is built using cloud technology, specifically the Microsoft Azure platform, and the software is supported by the .NET Framework. 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.
“All e-Pad activity is led by the student nurse, who can provide access to supervisors and assessors via their Turas account. 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.”
e-Pad has been added to the NHS training portfolio on the Turas platform.
