With each University we have worked with we have discovered their innovative approaches to delivering education to nurses and other health professionals. As a result each time we have developed a site for the online assessment of professional practice, we have adapted our platform to enable the University to continue to use their innovative assessment practice. At Bournemouth University we adapted the platform to accommodate their flexible structure for placement and at Surrey University we introduced a ‘PIN,’ which enables the device being used to make an assessment(s) to be swapped between the student and mentor.
BePAD is the site we have recently developed with Oxford Brookes University and it is being used to assess the practice of Nurses and Paramedics. Oxford Brookes University make use of their advanced simulated learning laboratories, to sign off some of the skills that student nurses need to demonstrate, often in advance of starting in a practice setting. 
The Nursing and Midwifery Council have confirmed in their report on the new standards of proficiency for registered nurses and standards for education and training that their ‘approach recognises the growing role and importance of simulated learning, providing AEIs with flexibility in determining how simulation is used for learning and assessment.’
On most occasions simulated learning is delivered to groups of students. This new functionality enables a tutor working with each group, to push details of the simulation based learning including the number of hours, into the portfolio of each student who attended the session with one click, thereby reducing the time spent going into each individual portfolio.
To view the site go to https://bepad.org.uk and look at the ‘How-to use the BePAD Guides at the bottom of the page.
