A new way of assessing skills offers objectivity and action plans for development to undergraduate nurses and midwives. Anita Fatchett reports

THE REVALIDATION of the well established undergraduate nurse programme at Leeds Metropolitan University (EMU) in 1994 provided an important opportunity to introduce a new method of student skills assessment - namely the skills workout (Dunn and Doughty 1993). It was chosen by the nurse/midwifery lecturer team because it was felt to offer a more modern and relevant alternative to the old-style module assessment booklets, with their tick lists and a tendency to encourage subjective comment from clinical assessors and facilitators alike (Dunn 1984).