The Consolidated Practice Experience (CPE) refers to the essential, hands-on or direct client care experiences required for learners to meet the British Columbia College of Nurses and Midwives (BCCNM) LPN Professional Standards, Practice Standards, and Entry-Level Competencies for nursing practice. These courses are scaffolded to support the progressive development of nursing practice. Learners build on previously gained experiences and are introduced to new client foci and contexts at each level. The CPE experiences are evaluated based on a laddering of the entry-level competencies across all four levels, as outlined in the evaluation tools.

The CPE 1, 2, and 4 experiences are directly supervised by faculty. CPE 3 is, optimally, directly supervised by faculty, but can be indirectly monitored by faculty if students are paired with a qualified practitioner in a community practice experience.

Focus of Consolidated Practice Experiences

In CPE 1, the focus is on the healthy client and becoming comfortable with the relational aspects of nursing, learning the role of the practical nurse, and becoming more confident with assessments, personal care, and beginning medication administration skills. This faculty-supervised experience is 90 hours across various practice settings, including complex care settings.

In CPE 2, the focus is on older adults, including those experiencing chronic illness and/or mental health conditions. Learners will encounter clients with more complex health challenges requiring comprehensive health assessment, medication administration and basic chronic wound management. This faculty-supervised experience is 120 hours in complex or multi-level care.

In CPE 3, the focus is on the role of the practical nurse within a continuum of care in a variety of community settings, including those that support clients experiencing mental health and/or substance use disorders. The continuum of care will provide learners with an opportunity to integrate and apply previous knowledge in community-based settings, including home health care, rehabilitation agencies, and supportive services such as community living and disability services. Any placement that can support the student to meet the learning needs for CPE 3 can be used, including inpatient mental health services where available, and/or learning can be supported through simulation in Integrated Nursing Practice 3. These hours may be offered as CPE 3 or integrated into the Integrated Nursing Practice 3 course as practice hours. This CPE faculty-supervised (direct or indirectly monitored) experience is 65 hours.

In CPE 4, the role of the practical nurse in acute care is emphasized. Learners focus on exacerbations of chronic illness and/or presentations of acute illness, including clients experiencing a concurrent mental health and/or substance use condition. Learners are supported to consolidate skills such as post-operative care, surgical wound management, IV therapy, and focused assessment. This faculty-supervised experience is 200 hours. Up to 30% of these hours may be integrated as clinical practice hours within the semester (not to be included in the Integrated Nursing Practice 4 course hours).

Final Practice Experience

The Final Practice Experience (FPE) is an individualized, faculty-monitored practice experience that offers an opportunity for the learner to consolidate knowledge and skills in preparation for entry to practice and to be practice-ready. The Final Practice Experience is 210 hours.

Historically, schools of nursing have used a preceptorship model for this final experience, but more recently a collaborative learning unit model has been made available in some regions.

In a preceptorship model, the learner is under the immediate supervision of a single fully qualified individual and monitored by the faculty. This may be an experienced licensed practical nurse (LPN) or, in some cases, a registered nurse (RN) or registered psychiatric nurse (RPN). The RN/RPN must be familiar with the LPN role expectations set by the employer and understand the LPN role description so they can reference this in the learner’s performance and provide feedback to the educational institute. The RN/RPN must also understand the learner’s educational preparation and the BCCNM LPN Professional Standards, Practice Standards, and Entry-Level Competencies.

A collaborative learning unit is a practice education alternative to preceptorship. In the collaborative learning unit model, learners practise and learn on a nursing unit, each following an individual set rotation and choosing their learning assignment (and therefore the LPN with whom they partner), according to their learning plans. Unlike the traditional one‐to‐one preceptorship, an emphasis is placed on learner responsibility for self‐guiding and for communicating their learning plan with faculty and clinical nurses (e.g., the approaches to learning and the responsibility they are seeking to assume). All nursing staff members on the collaborative learning unit are involved in this model and, therefore, not only do the learners gain a wide variety of knowledge, but the unit also has the ability to provide practice experiences for a larger number of students.^[1]

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