Clinical placements in Australian general practice: (Part 1) the experiences of pre-registration nursing students

Abstract

An international shift towards strengthening primary care services has stimulated the growth of nursing in general (family) practice. As learning in the clinical setting comprises a core component of pre-registration nursing education, it is logical that clinical placement opportunities would follow the workforce growth in this setting. Beyond simply offering placements in relevant clinical areas, it is vital to ensure high quality learning experiences that meet the educational needs of pre-registration nurses. Part 1 of a two part series reports on the qualitative study of a mixed methods project. Fifteen pre-registration nursing students participated in semi-structured interviews following a clinical placement in an Australian general practice. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and underwent a process of thematic analysis. Findings are presented in the following four themes; (1) Knowledge of the practice nurse role: I had very limited understanding, (2) Quality of the learning experience: It was a fantastic placement, (3) Support, belonging and mutual respect: I really felt part of the team, (4) Employment prospects: I would really, really love to go to a general practice but…… General practice placements exposed students to a diverse range of clinical skills which would equip them for future employment in primary care. Exposure to nursing in general practice also stimulated students to consider a future career in this clinical setting. Disciplines Medicine and Health Sciences | Social and Behavioral Sciences Publication DetailsMcInnes, S., Peters, K., Hardy, J. & Halcomb, E. (2015). Clinical placements in Australian general practice: (Part 1) the experiences of pre-registration nursing students. Nurse Education in Practice, 15 (6), 437-442. practice but…… General practice placements exposed students to a diverse range of clinical skills which would equip them for future employment in primary care. Exposure to nursing in general practice also stimulated students to consider a future career in this clinical setting.

Primary care clinical placements: The views of Australian registered nurse mentors and pre-registration nursing students (part 2)

“…Quantitative data arising from the survey overwhelmingly resonated with qualitative data which arose from the interviews (Part 1) (McInnes et al, 2015). Survey data consistently supported the students' verbal accounts and validate the ability for primary care nurses to support student learning and for primary care settings to provide a suitable clinical learning environment.…”

“…Findings from the qualitative study are reported as Part 1 of this series (McInnes et al, 2015).This paper reports on the quantitative study. Quantitative data were collected via two separate online surveys.…”

Characteristics of a critical care clinical placement programme affecting critical care nursing competency of baccalaureate nursing students: A structural equation modelling

“…The design of clinical placement programmes differs among institutions. Nonetheless, certain features must be considered to maximise a student’s learning and groom them “practice‐ready.” Studies have shown that a clinical placement with longer unit exposure (Claeys et al, ) has smaller mentor–student ratio (Claeys et al, ; McInnes, Peters, Hardy, & Halcomb, ) and provides student preparation before unit rotation (Brynildsen, Bjørk, Berntsen, & Hestetun, ; Ford et al, ; Sun et al, ; Wallin, Fridlund, & Thoren, ) is conducive for positive learning. Moreover, a single mentor who specialises in the field of assignment is viewed as promotive of experiential learning (Claeys et al, ; Wallin et al, ).…”

“…Albeit literature presents the characteristics of a promotive clinical placement (Brynildsen et al, ; Ford et al, ; Hunter & Arthur, ; Levett‐Jones, Pitt, Courtney‐Pratt, Harbrow, & Rossiter, ; McInnes et al, ; Sun et al, ; Wallin et al, ), evidence supporting such influence remains inadequate. Few studies also focused on the characteristics of a clinical placement programme in the critical care units, a hospital area that is different and overwhelming for baccalaureate student nurses.…”

GP/GPN partner* perspectives on clinical placements for student nurses in general practice: can a community of practice help to change the prevailing culture within general practice?

“…The authors found that primary care was not regarded seriously as a viable career option by the majority of the students that were surveyed. In addition, there have been a number of studies from Australia that have looked specifically at students’ experiences of general practice placements [19, 20]. The findings from these studies reported a generally positive student experience, and although the placements did provide some impetus for consideration of a career in general practice, little is currently known regarding the true impact of primary care placements upon students’ career intentions or on the GPs themselves.…”