MASTER ROTATION PLAN

INTRODUCTION

'Overall plan of rotation of all students in a particular educational programme, showing the
placement of the students belonging to total program (4 years in B.Sc. (N) and 3 and half years in
GNM courses) includes both theory and practice denoting the study block, clinical blocks, team
nursing, examinations, vacation, co-curricular activities etc.
It is prepared well in advance for the whole year so that it gives a complete and clear picture
about student’s placement either in theory or clinical field during an academic session. For each
year, it can be prepared separately and for total program one can be prepared so that every faculty
will be aware of students' postings. Teachers should follow the respective University or Board
syllabus as a guideline for preparing either master rotation plan or clinical rotation plan.

DEFINITION

*Master rotation plan is systematically arranged overall plan which shows rotation of all the
students in a particular educational institutional.
*It shows the placement of the students belonging to various groups/ classes in a clinical nursing
as well as community

PURPOSE

• Availability of an advance plan before implementation of curricular activities during an

academic year for the entire program
• All concerned are aware of the placement of students in clinical fields
• Coordination becomes more effective when theory, practice correlates and integrity exists
• Helps the students and teachers to prepare themselves for working in the areas

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 • Any modifications are required based on situations concerned, collaboration between the
faculty and service staff can be made for smooth running of organizational activities and
meeting the objectives of educational programe
• Assessment of curricular program is more effective
• The faculty members and nursing service staff are in a position to make tentative advance
plans for their leave or vacation without jeopardizing the teaching-learning activities.

Principles to be Followed While Preparing Master Rotation Plan

Plan in accordance with the concerned curriculum plan/syllabus for the entire
course/program Plan in advance for all students in all years of program. Plan the activities by
following maxims of teaching
Post the students based on university syllabus and availability of concerned required
specialities Select areas that can provide expected learning experience Plan to build on previous
experiences
Acquaint the clinical staff/clinical supervisor with clinical objectives and rotation plan
Provide each clinical experience of same duration to all the students Rotate each student through
each learning experience or block Plan for all students to enter and leave at the same time schedule.

Staff Involvement in Curriculum Planning

Curriculum committee consisting of members who actively participate in the development
or construction of a curriculum for their school. The members may be drawn from various
disciplines i.e., Teaching Faculty in Nursing Educational Institution. Curriculum committee main
responsibility is to organize all learning experiences planned by individual tutors into an integrated
whole. A learning experience is something in which the student actively participates and brings
change in his/her behavior. The individual teachers analyze their own subjects in order to help and
contribute to the correlation of teaching with other subjects. The school administrator has to
explain/orient all the staff about the philosophy, objectives of the organization; responsibilities of
each staff. When there is an appreciation and common understanding among the staff members of
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the school, there is bound to be a greater appreciation by their service, staff has to plan scheduling
of classes and field work clinical experience of the students. Teachers will maintain harmonious
curriculum in order to meet the national health.

The school should keep a close connection with the clinical fields (hospital and community)
wherever possible continuity of service should be maintained by the schoolin these fields, which
will bring in cooperation, understanding and a sense of appreciation of the program offered. A
better organization and planning of learning experience will be the resultant effect.
Faculties are accountable for implementing the program that enables the students to learn.
Its goal is always concerned with fostering of ability of their students in carrying out of the
necessary service to the society in the future.
The important aspects of curriculum planning are: the selection and organization of
learning experience for the students who are undergoing a program. The careful selection of the
experiences and their organization is built on the student's past knowledge and previous experience
and according to the levels of the students. Progress in complexity to higher levels of learning and
comprehension in the practice of nursing, is the aim. It should exhibit an inner relatedness among
the various subjects and also their relationship to the clinical instruction and practice of nursing.

PLANNING AND ORGANIZATION OF CLINICAL EXPERIENCE

Introduction

Planning of clinical experience is a component of learning experience at basic level. The

syllabi formulated by University/Board will acts as a guideline for fulfilling the minimum
requirements.
To bring change in human behavior, the learning experience must be organized as to have
cumulative effect. Clinical experience is an integral part of learning where the student will be
actively participating to otain skills in clinical practice by applying the principle of 'learning by
doing'. The time, the student spends and learns in the clinical fields is an important and integral
part of the total school program. The teacher's responsibility is to provide conducive environment
for the expected desired behavior.

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 The faculty has to plan the clinical experience, keeping the objectives in view so that it will
provide the needed learning at a particular stage in the course so that the student will be posted in
right clinical area at the right time. The teacher has to orient the students why they are posted in
the particular clinical area; so the teacher has to complete the theoretical component early, before
posting the students in the clinical area. Teacher has to inform to the students about the postings
early, what are the requirements they have to fulfil in postings, what type of desired learned
behavior they have to develop, everything she/he has to explain judicious decision making and
greater efforts are need to plan the clinical experience as well as plan for supervision and better
learning. The clinical experience and rotation plan should be well-organized and interrelated to
achieve the effectiveness in the overall objectives of nursing program. One of the objectives of
school of nursing is, 'understanding of the psychosomatic and social factors that affect the client
and ability and inclination to aid the patient in adjustment to and possibly in improvement of the
health status'.
Factors to be considered while providing Clinical Facilities
• Philosophy and objectives of an organization (School Philosophy) and an educational
program
• Health care delivery system
• Nursing Philosophy—Nursing Theories and Models—Clinical Nurse practitioner—
Functions of the nurse
• Levels of prevention, Health promotion, curative and Rehabilitation activities
• Methods of delivering Nursing care
• Legislation establishing independent nursing regimens and independent practice
• Standards for practice—structural process outcome and evaluation tools
• Availability of infrastructure i.e., community—sub centers, primary health centers, CHC,
hospitals with speciality facilities/institutions-general hospitals, specialties, number of
patients in a clinical setting and student strength
• Health agencies like Rehabilitation centers, Hospitals, Nursing homes, Clinics, subcenter
and primary health center
• Equipments and supplies
• Clinical Instructors availability
• Budget
• Field visits.
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 Principles in selection of learning experiences in Clinical area

• Learning experience should provide an opportunity for students to practice the type of
behavior implied in the objective
• Students must have time and opportunity to analyse the problems of specific patients,
recognizing the emotional and social problems, which affect the physical status and
interrelationships of various aspects of health
• Provide learning situations to assist in making and carrying out plans for the present and
continued regimen of care
• The activities sought must be within the range of possibility for the students concerned
• Students should acquire mastery of essential information and basic concepts for effective
health teaching.
Organization of Clinical Learning Experiences

Objectives can be attained only by learning experience through reinforcement and

repetition. An effectively organized educational program provides opportunity for fulfillment of 4
important criteria.
1. Continuity:
The relationship existing between the different levels of the same subject and skills
required. It refers to the vertical relation of major curriculum events.
2. Sequence:
It emphasizes the importance of having each successive experience build upon the
preceding one, but go more broadly and deeply into the matters involved.
3. Integration:
The horizontal relationship of curriculum experience.
4. Correlation:
The theory has to be correlated to practice, e.g. to develop skill in mechanical ventilation,
the students need to have knowledge of physiology of respiration, anatomy of the
respiratory tract and in practical experience, the learner should have the opportunity u
operate a ventilator, observation of a client who is on ventilator, documentation and
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 reporting of the progress, etc. For example: A student is taught Basic nursing/Nursing
Foundation in the first year, but the same subject is continued in the 2nd and 3rd years in
greater depth like Medical-Surgical Nursing and other specialities sequence is the
placement of the content in a gradual progress from simple to complex and comprehensive.
Sequence goes beyond continuity.
Teacher has to provide the opportunity for the students to teach the clients in each
successive clinical experience, student has to assume an increasingly broader responsibility for
recognizing the local health problem and making contacts with other individuals or agencies for
putting efforts in the solution of the problem.
Some questions have to be answered before planning clinical experiences of educational
value:
• What is the background of the student, when he comes to the professional education?
• What experiences he should receive to meet the objectives?
• How long students can be posted (duration of clinical experience as per norms—INC and
University or Board?
• What experience does the ward can offer to the student?
• What is the student expected to gain from clinical experience?
Learning experience should be consistent with the philosophy of the school and lead to the
achievement of terminal goal of the program. The teacher should clearly understand the
philosophy of institution, program and concerned hospitals where students will be posted. The
teachers has to state behavioral objectives to get desirable knowledge, skills and attitude and select
those experiences, which are appropriate in achieving the stated objectives. Learning experience
should provide opportunity for the development of independent thinking, good judgment, self-
discipline and integrity of purpose.

Planning Clinical Assignments

The students' future competence as a Nurse Practitioner depends to a large extent upon the
quality of instruction provided during clinical practice periods. Responsibility for planning the
clinical assignments rests squarely with the clinical supervisors, e.g. assigning clinical
responsibility, planning for ward-teaching, health-talk, case presentation, bedside clinic/ward

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clinic, ward conferences, etc. recognize what else must be dealt within the situation, besides the
particular experience being planned.

Orientation of Students to the Clinical Area

The clinical supervisor has to orient the students to the clinical area, staff and objectives,
expectations from the student, assignments to be completed, duration of posting, activities to be
performed and adhering to the clinical rotation plan etc.

Matching the Right Student with the Right Client

The teacher has to identify the ability of students when planning their clinical assignments.
The less able student should be helped to move toward the level of performance expected of all
students in the group i.e., posting the students in clinical area based upon their clinical requirement,
e.g. Posting III year B.Sc. (N) student in ENT ward to render nursing care for the clients with ENT
disorders.

Planning for Continuity of Care

The first day of learning experience, the student has to assess the client, observe the client
clinical findings and collect the history, document the history, reviews the chart of the client,
formulate/identify the Nursing diagnosis and plan the care by utilizing the principles and steps of
Nursing Process. On the second day, he can provide complete care and meet holistic needs. By the
3rd day, he may help the client and his relatives to gain knowledge about client's condition and
needed assistance by family (the activities which family has to carry out in rendering care to the
client to attain optimum health), which includes implementation of Nursing care activities as per
long-term goals, short-term goals.

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Providing adequate Clinical Supervision

The teacher has to supervise the student's tasks in the clinical area as Nursing is practice
discipline, strict clinical supervisory practice is essential, while posting the students in clinical
areas, INC norms related to teacher student ratio has to be followed strictly to teach effectively.

Coordinating Classroom Teaching and Clinical learning

It is facilitated by formulating units of study, which are sufficiently broad reasonably they
can find suitable clients for students' assignments.

Recording Results to Help with the Planning of Future Clinical Assignments

The teacher should maintain the records and document students' performance in clinical
area. Cumulative records have to be maintained, which has to be submitted at the time of pre finals
and final examinations, The documentation should meet the purposes of the course and reflect the
strengths and weaknesses of each student.

Advantages of master rotational plan:

* Availability OF advance plan helps to plan for various curricular and co- curricular activities *it
informs all the faculty members of the student placement in various clinical and community areas
and also the theory hours so as to enable them to work cooperatively
*Students are aware of their academic programme in advance. This helps them to prepare
themselves for working in various settings *evaluation of the programme is more effective
*nursing service staff and faculty members are in a position to make tentative advance plans for
their vacation, etc. Without disturbing the teaching learning activities

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PREPARATION OF MASTER PLAN

➢ Master plan should be prepared in accordance with the requirements prescribed by the
statutory bodies like Indian Nursing Council and Universities.
➢ The master plan should also spell out the hours of planned instructions and required hours of
clinical experiences per week or per month of the year
➢ Explanation of different courses of study with special reference to theory and practical, for
example, theory and practical experiences meant for medical surgical nursing, mental health
nursing, etc
➢ Total duration of the programme, for example, 3 years for diploma programme and 4 years
graduate programme.

➢ Invariably the master plan explains the following:

➢ Total allotted hours in terms of theory and practical for each course
➢ Course plan of each course with details like total units, hours and objectives for each unit

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CONCLUSION

It is prepared well in advance for the whole year so that it gives complete and clear picture about
student’s placement either in theory or field during an academic session. For each year, it can be
prepared separately and or total programmed one can be prepared so that every faculty will be
aware of students' placements, thus is helps both the students and teachers to prepare themselves
for working in their consecutive areas.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOK

1. WHO: Guide for Schools of Nursing in India, World Health Organization, Regional Office
for South- East Asia, New Delhi.

2. Indian Nursing Council syllabus.

3. Basavanthappa B T, Nursing Education, India, 2009; 2nd edition, page-939

4. Neeraja K P, Textbook of Nursing Education, 2005; 242

5. Nursing infoline.com, an encyclopedia for nurses, nursesinfoline.com/masterrotation-plan-

2

6. Nurses of India, Master Rotation Plan for Effective Nursing Education, April 2005, pp 10,
11, 12

NET REFERENCE

www.google.com
www.scribed.com
www.wekipedia.com

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MONTHS October November December January February March April
WEEKS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26

DAYS

Hrs/month 68hrs 136hrs 68hrs 136hrs 182hrs 130hrs 144hrs

Hrs/week 34 34 22 34 24 34 34 34 34 28 34 28 48 48 48 48 48 48 34
1
2
3
4
5
Teaching Block
6
7
8
9
10
Theory 34 x 8 = 272hrs. 34x4=136hrs 18
Practical 48X 6= 288hrs 16