Protected: Quality Management of the Practice Learning Environment – NHS Fife
Alice Fisher, Excellence in Care (EiC) Support Nurse, has played a pivotal role in improving QMPLE (Quality Management of the Practice Learning Environment) submission rates across NHS Fife. Through strategic engagement and education, Alice has helped drive meaningful change. Here, she shares her approach and the impact of her work.
Situation
A Strategic Approach to Excellence in Care
Alice was grateful for the opportunity to undertake a secondment as NHS Fife’s Excellence in Care (EiC) Support Nurse. This was a dual role. One that complimented Alice’s current role, which is a substantive post as a Practice Education Facilitator (PEF).
Alice’s initial awareness of Excellence in Care stemmed from her PEF experience, particularly with QMPLE and its associated scoring measures. This sparked a keen interest in quality improvement, especially from a strategic perspective.
Alice and the EiC Board Lead set clear goals due to the short timeframe of her secondment, one being increasing the number of CAIR dashboard users. She applied her educational background to shape practices and involve stakeholders. A key achievement during her six-month secondment was more than doubling the student QMPLE evaluations submitted across NHS Fife.
“This improvement has been a collaborative effort. Engagement with PEFs, university partners, and students has been key to increasing participation and awareness”
NHS Fife
Approach
Driving participation and impact
- Stronger student engagement: There has been a noticeable uptick in engagement with university partners, who have recognised the value of student feedback in evaluating and improving practice learning environments (PLEs). Universities actively encourage students to submit end-of-placement evaluations.
- On-the-ground visibility: Input during ‘Prep for Practice’ sessions and student inductions helped normalise and promote QMPLE feedback processes. These efforts have contributed to enhancing and sustaining the quality of learning environments for all learners.
- Data-informed improvement: The rise in CAIR dashboard users has empowered Practice Learning Environments (PLEs) to take ownership of their feedback. Unlike QMPLE alone, the dashboard allows them to benchmark their data against other areas across the board. Some areas have even piloted ‘Excellence in Care Boards’ to showcase and review their data.
As Alice returns to her PEF role, she remains committed to championing data-driven improvement and continuing to embed Excellence in Care principles.
““I am excited to continue engaging with higher education institutions, students, and practice learning environments. I aim to further embed Excellence in Care principles and inspire the future workforce to use data to drive quality improvement.”
NHS Fife
Impact
Evidence of impact
The QMPLE Student Feedback measure calculates the proportion of student nurses and midwives who have submitted feedback in the QMPLE system. The data below shows the total measure rate across NHS Fife.
Since Alice began her secondment in December 2024, NHS Fife has seen a marked increase in QMPLE student feedback submissions, reflecting her dedication to the task. From November 2024 to April 2025, the proportion of submissions more than doubled, from 32.6% to 68.1%, with a sustained shift above baseline evident in the data.
CAIR user figures – NHS Fife June 2024 – May 2025
The number of CAIR users in NHS Fife has also notably increased during this period. On 29th October 2024, there were 86 CAIR users in NHS Fife, which has increased by 17% to 101 users on 26th May 2025. It is also a huge achievement to have over 100 CAIR users within the Health Board.
Next steps
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