The role of the sign-off mentor in the community setting

In an move to identify nursing as an all-graduate profession, the Nursi Midwifery Council standards identified that future nurses need to be equipped with the skills and knowledge to lead and deliver high-quality care. Inorder to have these skills within the changing context of health care, students need to experience care delivery across a range of community, hospital and other settings. Students have to undertake a final clinical placement of 12 weeks at the end of their programme, commonly called a consolidation placement, and are allocated a sign-off mentor to confirm they meet the requirements for entry to the register. Placement capacity within primary care settings continues to be a challenge alongside the need for providing a sign-off mentor. This article discusses some of the challenges and opportunities of the role of the sign-off mentor and the potential impact for encouraging newly qualified recruitment in this area.