Registered nurses' expectations and experiences of first year students' clinical skills and knowledge
Felicity Astin
School of Healthcare, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
Jennifer M Newton
School of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Clayton VIC
Lisa G McKenna
School of Nursing and Midwifery, Monash University, Clayton VIC
Leola Moore-Coulson
School of Nursing, Peninsula Campus, Monash University, VIC
PP: 279 - 291
Abstract
Background
Clinical education is a fundamental component of nurse education. In theory, this aspect involves integrated input from registered nurses, clinical educators and university lecturers. Registered nurses are important contributors to this process and play a major role in influencing and shaping undergraduate nursing students' early clinical experiences. Despite this important function, their voice has been somewhat neglected. Little is known about registered nurses' expectations and experiences of first year undergraduate nursing students undertaking their first clinical placement.
Aim
The aim of this study was to explore registered nurses' expectations and experiences of first year undergraduate students' levels of knowledge and clinical skills.
Method
Three consecutive focus groups were conducted with a purposive sample of 16 registered nurses. Interviews were audio taped and transcribed and thematic analysis applied to the data to identify themes imbedded in the data sets.
Findings
Three main themes emerged: (1) Clinical nursing skills (2) Knowledge requirements and (3) Experiences of reality shock. The findings highlight that registered nurses' expectations of first year students' clinical skills and knowledge were not consistently met. Registered nurses placed significant emphasis upon a range of basic skills, but acknowledged that some aspects of nursing knowledge can only be learned through experience. Furthermore, they demonstrated a considerable degree of empathy surrounding the reality shock that students might experience during early clinical placement.
Conclusion
Findings from this study suggest that registered nurses and academics differ in their perceptions surrounding the level of clinical skills first year students should have during their first clinical placement. There appears to be a two-way theory practice gap between registered nurses in clinical practice and academics in tertiary institutions. Improved communication between registered nurses and providers of nurse education may assist in addressing some of the issues raised by this study and reduce the theory practice gap, which remains 'alive and well'.
Keywords
clinical education; theory-practice gap; undergraduate students; expectations; clinical skills; knowledge; registered nurses
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