The relationship between clinical placement duration and students' satisfaction with the quality of supervision and learning environment: A mediation analysis

Scoping communication training in undergraduate children's nursing programmes: A mixed method study examining delivery methods and content

AIM

The aim of this study was to scope communication curriculum reported as currently being delivered within undergraduate children's nursing programmes across the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom.

BACKGROUND

Communication between a children's nurse and a child/young person influences a child/young person's healthcare experience. Despite an identified need for a comprehensive and effective communication curriculum within undergraduate nursing, there is a notable gap of understanding of the delivery and content of communication training within children's nursing curricula.

DESIGN

A mixed method, online anonymous self-report survey design was adopted.

METHODS

Programme Leads of undergraduate children's nursing programmes in the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom were asked to report on how communication training is delivered to students on undergraduate children's nursing programmes. The Checklist for Reporting of Survey Studies (CROSS) was used for the reporting of this study.

RESULTS

Thirty-two programme leads completed the survey (51 % response rate). Findings show variability in the delivery and content of communication training across Higher Educational Institutions. Core communication modules featured across all nursing programmes, however, only two programme leads reported delivering standalone child-centred communication modules. Communication training was not always delivered by an educator with professional experience of children and young people in healthcare. Curriculum capacity had an impact on the delivery of communication training, with clinical practice being relied on to supplement child specific communication training. Programme leads highlighted the need for greater inclusion of child voice in shaping and delivering undergraduate children's nurse education.

CONCLUSIONS

This study shows that while communication is covered as a core part of the undergraduate nursing curriculum across the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom, it generally lacks a focus on children and young people and is not always supported by educators with professional experience of children and young people in healthcare. More work needs to focus on equipping undergraduate children's nurses with the unique skills needed to communicate effectively with children and young people and incorporate learnings into nursing pedagogy.

Remediation in clinical practice for student nurses - A scoping review

BACKGROUND

Clinical practice provides an opportunity for undergraduate nursing students to develop the professional attitudes, knowledge and skills required for the delivery of safe competent care. Some students, however, are challenged to consolidate learning in clinical practice and are therefore at risk of failing courses or programmes. Supporting these students requires remediation strategies specific to clinical practice. This is challenging, however, as remediation approaches frequently centre on supporting students in theoretical components of courses/programmes, rather than clinical practice.

OBJECTIVES

A scoping review was conducted to explore and summarise literature in undergraduate nurse education related to remediation support for clinical practice.

METHODS

The research question was developed using the Population/Concept/Context model. Following the identification of keywords, five databases (CINHAL Plus, MEDLINE, ProQuest, Scopus and Informit) were searched. Abstracts and full-text articles were independently screened by two authors. Data from included studies was extracted and then thematically analysed.

RESULTS

Twenty papers met inclusion/exclusion criteria (five literature reviews, one concept analysis, six commentary papers and eight original research studies). Research studies used qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods research designs. Populations included nurse academics, mentors/preceptors, health professional students (including nursing students) and nursing students exclusively. Three themes were identified: pre-placement remediation strategies; on-placement remediation strategies and post-placement remediation strategies. All authors highlighted the importance of remediation for at-risk students in clinical practice.

CONCLUSIONS

This review identified several remediation strategies that may support undergraduate nursing students in clinical practice. Few, however, were well-defined or rigorously evaluated, highlighting the need for additional research on nursing student remediation in clinical practice. A partnership-based approach to remediation that engages students, educators, and healthcare providers and is underpinned by clear processes may be of further benefit to nursing students in clinical practice.

Healthcare Students' Perceptions of the Quality of the Clinical Learning Environment in Morocco: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background

The clinical learning environment (CLE) is critical for developing the practical skills needed in healthcare professions. This study aimed to evaluate healthcare students' perceptions of the quality of the CLE using the Arabic version of the Clinical Learning Environment, Supervision and Nurse Teacher (ar. CLES + T) scale. The study also aimed to evaluate the tool's measurement invariance and compare perceptions among student groups.

Methods

This cross-sectional study was carried out at two health education institutes in Morocco throughout the academic year 2018-2019 among 1550 undergraduate students who had just finished a clinical practicum in a hospital or primary healthcare facility. Data were gathered using the ar. CLES + T scale. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and multigroup CFA were performed. The measurement invariance of the ar. CLES + T scale was assessed across gender, study year, and clinical practicum duration, using configural invariance, metric invariance, scalar invariance, and strict invariance. The t-test and analysis of variance were used to compare the mean scores of the student groups.

Results

Students expressed positive perceptions toward the CLE. The "Pedagogical atmosphere on the ward" dimension scored the highest, while the "Role of the nurse teacher" dimension received the lowest scores. The measurement invariance of the ar. CLES + T scale by gender, study year, and clinical practicum duration was established. First-year students and those with an extended practicum period were the most satisfied.

Conclusion

To promote effective learning in the clinical environment, nurse teachers might use innovative teaching approaches tailored to their evolving role in these settings. Moreover, extending the duration of clinical practicum can further enhance student learning outcomes.

The impact of final-year clinical placements on nursing students' career planning for the graduate year and beyond

AIMS

This study had three objectives: 1) to determine final-year nursing students' career preferences and long-term career plans; 2) to investigate factors influencing nursing students' specialty choices following their final-year clinical placement(s); and 3) to understand how final-year clinical placements can be used to develop the career interests of nursing students to different nursing specialties.

BACKGROUND

Clinical placement provides an insightful experience that may influence students to feel inclined to work in certain specialties. Therefore, each clinical placement should promote students' learning and enhance positive experiences that could develop their career interests and encourage them to seek employment in the specialty on graduation.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional online survey.

METHODS

The survey was structured using the Career Decision Self-Efficacy Scale - Short Form. The questionnaire was distributed to final-year nursing students (N = 222) at two public universities in Western Australia. This study specifically reports on the Goal selection and Planning domains of the Career Decision Self-Efficacy Scale - Short Form, which were explored through additional questions prompting participants to explain their career preferences and reasons for their nursing specialty choices.

RESULTS

Most participants, fifty-three percent, had low confidence in making career decisions. The Goal Selection and Planning questions measured the students' confidence in choosing a suitable practice destination and preparing for their professional careers. Overall, participants prefer employment in hospital settings both in the short- and long-term aspects of their nursing career. The factors influencing the students' career decisions were classified into three main categories: the clinical environment, educational factors and individual factors.

CONCLUSIONS

The nursing curriculum may encourage nursing students to work in some specialties over others. This study provides insight into factors that may promote or inhibit students' career choices and how students may be motivated to pursue the less preferred nursing specialties.

Exploration and Practice of the Relationship between College Students' Learning Adaptation and Mental Health under the Information-Based Teaching Environment of Potential Profile Analysis

In order to further investigate and understand the relationship between college students' learning adaptation process and mental health in the learning process under the information-based teaching environment, this paper makes a questionnaire survey on college students' learning adaptation and mental health and selects 408 college students as the research object. The results show that the potential profile analysis shows that with the development of network and informatization, the learning adaptability of college students can be divided into four types: troubled group (accounting for 7.598%), marginal adaptive group (accounting for 42.892%), maladaptive group (accounting for 4.167%), and good adaptive group (accounting for 45.343%). The mental health level of the latter two is better, and the mental health level of the first two is worse. Students who do not adapt to learning and students who adapt well show common characteristics. Most of them are only children, and their parents have a high level of education. This kind of family often has good material conditions and loose family atmosphere, which will also form a protective mechanism for students' mental health, making students have good self-acceptance ability and good mental health level.

Comprehensive initial evaluation of an innovative yearlong population health internship for undergraduates

BACKGROUND

The innovative Population Health Internship (PHI) addresses the evolving need for baccalaureate-prepared nurses to achieve population health competency. A comprehensive evaluation of the inaugural year of the PHI was conducted using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Framework for Program Evaluation in Public Health and the Context, Input, Process, Product (CIPP) curricular evaluation model. Students and community agency partners-both key stakeholders-contributed to the evaluation.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Quantitative data were used to address functional and outcome areas of the PHI for purposes of PHI logistics, student learning gains, and program impact and sustainability. Qualitative data were used to provide insights into challenges in instituting curricular change, complexity in student-agency communications, importance of student preparedness/attitude, issues of role confusion, misperceptions about the population health nursing role, student learning, and impacts on partner agencies and their populations.

IMPLICATIONS

Educational implications include the importance of assessing both learning gains and student buy-in, the need for a long-term evaluation approach to accommodate for challenges related to radical curriculum change, and the importance of strong stakeholder support to facilitate mutually beneficial relationships and a positive learning experience.

Factors Associated with Nursing Student Satisfaction with Their Clinical Learning Environment at Wolkite University in Southwest Ethiopia

Background. The clinical learning environment has been defined as “an interactive network of strengths within the clinical environment that influence the clinical learning outcomes of students. Understanding students’ level of satisfaction with their clinical learning environment is crucial to ensuring the required teaching and learning process. Therefore, this study was designed to assess the level of satisfaction with the CLE among nursing students at the Wolkite University of Ethiopia. Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted at Wolkite University. This study was carried out in March 2022 on 208 student nurses selected by purposive and convenient sampling techniques. This study used the English version of the Clinical Learning Environment and Supervision + Nurse Teacher (CLES + T) evaluation scale. The collected data were cleaned, coded, and entered into Epi data 3.1, and then, statistical analyses were performed using SPSS version 26. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression models were used to identify factors associated with the satisfaction level of nursing students towards CLE. Adjusted odds ratios (AORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated, and $p$ values < 0.05 were considered to indicate statistical significance. Results. More than half of the study participants were females, and nearly half (50.5%) of the participants were in year three of the nursing program. The study found that 39.9% (95%CI: 32.2%, 46.6%) of students were satisfied with their CLE. Factors that had a significant association with the satisfaction level of nursing students towards CLE were gender (female students) (AOR = 16.053 (6.397, 40.286)), year of study (4th year) (AOR = 6.296 (2.679, 14.796)), and the type of the hospital in which their last clinical placement was held (at a primary hospital) (AOR = 2.961 (1.122, 7.815)). Conclusion. Effective nursing education programs need to be developed to increase satisfaction with clinical practice and to promote positive emotional regulation in nursing students. Nurse practitioners and managers should be aware of their important role in the professional development of students and their satisfaction with clinical placements.

The nurse teacher's pedagogical cooperation with students, the clinical learning environment and supervision in clinical practicum: a European cross-sectional study of graduating nursing students

BACKGROUND

A supportive clinical practicum experience may enhance the successful transition and socialization to working life of graduating nursing students. Nurse teachers have the main responsibility of supporting and guiding nursing students with their pedagogical expertise during the students' clinical practicum. Thus, the clinical role of nurse teachers is seen as an essential part of a high-quality clinical practicum. Nursing students appreciate the nurse teacher's cooperation with students, but it is often reported to be unattainable. The aim of this study was to explore and compare graduating nursing students' experiences of the nurse teacher's pedagogical cooperation with students, the clinical learning environment and supervision in their final clinical practicum, and to analyze factors associated with these experiences in six European countries.

METHODS

A cross-sectional comparative international survey design was used. The modified Clinical Learning Environment, Supervision and Nurse Teacher (CLES+T) Scale, with a new subscale measuring the nurse teacher's pedagogical cooperation with students, was used. A convenience sample of graduating nursing students in Finland, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Lithuania and Spain completed the online survey in 2018-2019. The data were analyzed using a Chi-Square test, Pearson's correlation coefficients, and linear models.

RESULTS

A total of 1796 (response rate 49%) nursing students completed the survey. Overall, students had positive experiences of the nurse teacher's pedagogical cooperation, the clinical learning environment and supervision in their final clinical practicum. Students in Spain had the most positive experiences. Educational background factors appeared to be associated with the students' experiences of the nurse teacher's pedagogical cooperation with students, the clinical learning environment and supervision. The relationships between the subscale Nurse teacher's pedagogical cooperation with students and the Clinical Learning Environment and Supervision Scale were perceived as weak to strong depending on the country.

CONCLUSIONS

This study reveals that nurse teachers play an essential role in supporting and guiding nursing students' final clinical practicum. In this light, researchers, educators, and leaders should collaborate seamlessly between educational institutions and healthcare organizations to establish the nurse teachers' pedagogical cooperation role within the clinical learning environment.

The lived experience of being an undergraduate midwifery student in the neonatal unit

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study is to examine the experience of undergraduate student midwives in the neonatal unit.

BACKGROUND

Clinical experience is an essential component of education for the development of competent midwives. Literature has highlighted the pivotal effects of precepting and how it contributes to student experience. Although there is a plethora of research examining undergraduate student midwives' experience, to our knowledge this is the first study exploring their experience in the neonatal unit.

DESIGN

Based in phenomenology, eight semi-structured interviews were conducted producing rich data.

METHODS

Following informed consent and ethical approval, post transcription, the data were coded using Colaizzi's (1978) framework.

RESULTS

Significant themes and sub-themes emerged such as course design, environmental experience, sources of stress and preceptor experience. The student experience very much depends on the preceptor, how busy the environment is and if appropriately staffed.

CONCLUSIONS

Based on these findings there are suggested recommendations including adjusting the timing and length of the placement and how to improve the environment based on the preceptor-student relationship. Also, suggestions on how consistency and communication can be improved are proposed.

Understanding the Expectations of Nursing Students Following the First Clinical Internship: A Qualitative Study

The objective of this study was to describe how nursing students' expectations are achieved after the first clinical internship. A longitudinal qualitative study using purposive sampling was used in a public nursing school in Barcelona, Spain. Fifteen nursing students attending their internship for the first time. Data were collected in 2019 using semi-structured interviews until data saturation was reached. Interviews were conducted before and after the completion of the first clinical internship. The data were analyzed using the thematic analysis method. The students experienced some negative issues they did not think about, such as excessive homework, feeling a worker, not a student, loneliness, and learnings influenced by chance. Positive assessments of the accessibility of the placement location and the experience of the clinical instructor have a powerful influence on the student, allowing for the assessment and integration of the student in the health team. The practical learning is mediated by chance in terms of center, service, teacher, and clinical instructor assigned. It is crucial to establish consensual measures among all the actors involved to facilitate the objectivity of teaching and learning.