6 Finishing a course

Contents

• Completing the course with an exam
• Arranging a certificate-handover ceremony
• The Bettercare exam process
• Photographs
• Updating the course material
• Your next Bettercare course

Completing the course with an exam

When your group has worked through the entire book, you can choose to take a formal 75-question multiple-choice examination. It is not required for every member of the group to take the exam even if the majority would like to: it should be an individual choice.

The exam questions are taken from the multiple-choice quizzes in the book. The content of the skills chapters and notes will not be included in the examination.

The exam questions are taken from the chapter quizzes.

How to request exams

Exam papers can be requested from Bettercare. The exam paper and answer sheet will be emailed (or posted if necessary) to the group facilitator.

Please state clearly which course exam you require (this is the same as the name of the book). It’s best to request the exam paper at least two weeks before you would like to write the exam.

Visit forum.bettercare.co.za for help with exams.

Writing the exam

• As the facilitator, you will need to arrange a venue for the exam. The venue should have enough tables and chairs for each person writing the exam to have their own. Each person will also need a pen or pencil and an exam answer sheet.
• You will also need an invigilator who supervises the exam process. If, as the course facilitator, you have already completed the exam or choose not to take it, you can act as the exam invigilator. If you have facilitated the course, but would like to write the exam, you need to arrange for someone else to act as the invigilator.
• The time needed to write the exam is one hour, but writers should arrive at the venue at least 15 minutes before the exam is due to start so that they can find a seat, make sure they have everything they need and get ready to write.
• The invigilator should monitor the time and let those writing know when there are 30 minutes left (half-way) and again when there are only 10 minutes left. A clock in the exam venue is also helpful to the people who are writing the exam.
• When time is up, everyone must hand in their answer sheets to the invigilator.

An invigilator supervises the exam process. If you are not writing the exam, you can be the invigilator.

Marking completed exams

The correct answer sheet will be emailed to you, the facilitator, along with the exam. It must not be looked at before the exam is complete. Once the exam is complete, the group facilitator should mark the exams immediately and give the participants their results.

Getting certificates for completed exams

Participants need to achieve at least 80% (60 or more out of 75) in the exam to qualify for a certificate.

Being a successful facilitator requires initiative and leadership skills. Because of this, we want to reward our facilitators for the important role they play in the empowerment and training of healthcare workers. If more than half of your group members who write the exam qualify for a certificate, we will also mail you a Bettercare Group Facilitator certificate acknowledging your leadership capability and commitment to a goal. You can earn one of these certificates for each different Bettercare course that you facilitate (e.g. one for Newborn Care and another one for Childhood HIV).

Participants need to achieve at least 80% (60 or more out of 75) in the exam to qualify for a certificate.

Arranging a certificate-handover ceremony

Once members of your group have completed the course and passed the exam, you may want to have a certificate-handover ceremony to honour the graduates.

A simple certificate-handover ceremony honours those who successfully complete the course.

The ceremony does not have to be fancy or time-consuming – a simple handover and public acknowledgement during a morning or lunch break is fine. If Bettercare graduates would like to invite family or friends to the ceremony, it helps to make the occasion special. If there is any leftover money in the budget, you can buy a few snacks for graduates and guests. Alternatively, you could add this into the budget in the planning stages of the course.

The Bettercare exam process

Figure 6-1: The Bettercare exam process

Photographs

We would love to feature photographs of your groups on our website – you can send photos of your group during your weekly sessions, while doing skills chapters or at the certificate-handover ceremony and we will add them to our website.

Updating the course material

Bettercare learning materials are regularly updated to keep up with developments and changes in healthcare. Feedback from participants helps us to continuously improve our learning material. You can help by letting us know about factual or language errors, sections that are difficult to understand or by suggesting additions to the contents.

Your next Bettercare course

We have an extensive range of Bettercare titles. Once you have completed a course, look at others that might interest you or your colleagues as we believe that well-trained healthcare workers are empowered healthcare workers. Different members at your institution can take turns in being the group facilitator for different courses.

Explore other Bettercare titles by visiting www.bettercare.co.za