The quality assurance of professional healthcare education is a key tenet of EMSHA activity. For the Education Commissioning Unit, this relates particularly to the quality assurance of commissioned programmes. Good quality education is a pre-requisite of good quality care.
The quality of professional healthcare education is dependent upon a number of aspects (notwithstanding the learners capability and attitude).
The EMSHA has a responsibility to ensure effective commissioning and robust, well framed contracts to ensure universities are aware of service requirements for graduates that are fit for practice. The universities have a responsibility to provide a high standard of current, credible and relevant professional healthcare education. Service provider organisations have a responsibility to ensure that they are fully engaged in the commissioning, curriculum development and quality assurance processes and to recognise the significant contribution service staff play in providing practical and professional learning whilst learners are undertaking their practice learning opportunities (for most programmes this is 50% of the learners' education).
The quality of professional healthcare education is dependent upon the SHA, universities and service provider organisations (and their agents) working in partnership to ensure practitioners that are fit for purpose, fit for practice and fit for award.
The Education Commissioning Unit assures the quality of the education provision and clinical placements for students against quality standard frameworks. These standards are based on those required by the Department of Health, Skills for Health and the professional bodies. Further details are available via the following links:
Education Commissioning for Quality
Enhancing Quality in Partnership
Generic Standards for Training
Health Professions Council
Nursing & Midwifery Council
The Education Commissioning Unit has been working towards a uniform process, for quality assurance across the East Midlands. It is now undertaking a final review and is developing a quality assurance strategy.
