Placement prep kit / Tools for your shift
Placement prep.
Walk in ready.
Plan your shift on a brain sheet that prints on one page. Set learning goals your facilitator will recognise, tick off your first week, and turn feedback into your next step.
Your work stays on this device. Goals, ticks and reflections are saved in this browser only (localStorage). Nothing is sent to OzNurseHub or anyone else. The brain sheet isn't saved unless you turn that on.
Your browser isn't letting this page save, so your work will be lost when you close it. Copy or print anything you want to keep.
- 1. Brain sheet
- 2. Learning goals
- 3. First-week checklist
- 4. What can I do?
- 5. Feedback reflection
- Sources
Tool 1 / Brain sheet
Plan your shift on one page.
Fill it in on screen after handover, or print a blank one to write on. It prints on one landscape A4 page.
Protect patient privacy. Use bed numbers, and initials at most. Never enter names, dates of birth, record numbers or Medicare numbers. If you print it, follow your facility's rules for handover sheets, including disposing of them securely.
Brain sheetOzNurseHub
Every shift: hand hygiene · check patient ID · escalate early · document as you go · ask before you do anything new.
oznursehub.com/placement-prep.html · Dispose of this sheet securely.
Tool 2 / Learning goals
Set SMART goals in two minutes.
Pick your year, placement and what you want to work on. You'll get a draft SMART goal (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) linked to the NMBA standards. Edit it until it sounds like you.
Your draft goal
Edit any part. Change numbers and timeframes to suit your placement.
My goals
Saved on this device. Two or three goals per placement is plenty. Share them with your facilitator in your first week.
Tool 3 / First-week checklist
Your first week, sorted.
Ticks are saved on this device. Untick everything before your next placement.
Tool 4 / What can I do?
What can I do in my year? Check, don't guess.
There's no single list for every student. What you can do depends on what your uni has taught and assessed, your facility's policies and your supervising RN on the day.
Ask on day one
- What has my uni taught and assessed me on so far? Bring your skills record if you have one.
- Which activities does this facility let students do, and which need direct supervision?
- Who's my supervising RN each shift, and who do I go to if they're busy?
- How do I say so if I'm asked to do something outside my scope?
Check, don't assume
Rules for students often differ in these areas. Ask before you're involved.
- Medicines that need extra checks or are legally restricted, such as Schedule 8 medicines
- Intravenous medicines, fluids and blood products
- Acting as a second checker
- Taking verbal or phone orders
- Electronic records and logins
- Invasive devices and higher-risk procedures
My scope tracker
Tick as you confirm each one. Saved on this device. Add skills from your uni's list. To record each time you practise a skill, use the clinical skills logbook.
| Skill | Taught & assessed at uni | Facility allows | Done with supervision |
|---|
Tool 5 / Feedback reflection
Turn feedback into your next step.
Many Australian nursing courses assess placements with the ANSAT (Australian Nursing Standards Assessment Tool), which is mapped to the NMBA Registered nurse standards for practice. Use this before your mid-placement and final assessments, or after any feedback.
By standard Open the ones that apply
Self-ratings use the ANSAT's 1 to 5 scale and are for your own reflection. Your assessor rates you against what's expected at your year level, and on the ANSAT a 1 or 2 means that standard hasn't been achieved. Your uni's form and instructions come first.
Reflect: what, so what, now what?
Summary for my assessment
Keep it de-identified. Don't include patient or staff names or details that could identify anyone.
Sources
Where this comes from.
Checked in October 2026.
- NMBA, Registered nurse standards for practice: the seven standards used in the goals and reflection tools.
- ANSAT, Tools and resources for registered nurse students: the 1 to 5 rating scale and assessment questions.
- NMBA, Frameworks, including the decision-making framework for nursing and midwifery.
- Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, National Hand Hygiene Initiative: the 5 Moments for Hand Hygiene.
- Rolfe, G., Freshwater, D., & Jasper, M. (2001). Critical reflection for nursing and the helping professions: A user's guide. Palgrave: the "What? So what? Now what?" model.
Learning support, not clinical direction. Always follow your uni's placement requirements, local policies and your supervising RN.