Exploring the nursing student experience at a remote Australian university campus: a qualitative study

Abstract

Background Nurses constitute most of the rural and remote Australian health workforce, however staff shortages in these regions are common. Rural exposure, association, and undertaking rural clinical placements can influence health students’ decision to work rurally after graduation, however attending university in rural and remote regions has been shown to be a great contributor. An improved understanding of these nursing students’ experiences may inform changes to teaching and support strategies for these students, which in turn could improve their retention and completion rates, contributing to a more sustainable rural and remote Australian nursing workforce. This study aimed to explore and describe students’ experiences of studying nursing in the context of a satellite university campus located in a remote town, with a focus on education delivery methods, staff, support, student services, and barriers and enablers to successful study. Methodology Nine students participated in this qualitative descriptive study. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken, allowing participants to reflect on their experiences as nursing students in the context of a geographically remote satellite university campus. The resulting data were grouped into common themes and summarised. Results Students were generally positive regarding lectures delivered by videoconference or recorded lectures, as they allowed for greater flexibility which accommodated their busy personal lives. Face-to-face teaching was especially valuable, and students were particularly positive about their small cohort size, which enabled the creation of strong, supportive relationships between students, their cohort, and teaching and support staff. However, barriers related to student demographics and some difficulties with course engagement and campus staffing were experienced. Conclusions The experiences of nursing students at remote university campuses are different from those experienced by traditional, metropolitan university students. Although these nursing students face additional barriers unique to the remote campus context, they benefit from a range of enabling factors, including their close relationships with other students, staff, family, and their local community.

Factors Influencing Retention among Regional, Rural and Remote Undergraduate Nursing Students in Australia: A Systematic Review of Current Research Evidence

“…Three potential records from the reference lists were assessed, but no study was included. As a result, a total of six records [26,[33][34][35][36][37] were included in this systematic review. The overall process of the literature screening is illustrated by the PRISMA flow diagram shown in Figure 1.…”

“…The final synthesis was constructed from the two quantitative studies [34,35] and four qualitative studies [26,33,36,37] (see Table 1). Five reported primary research findings in peer-reviewed journals [26,[33][34][35][36], and one was a Master of Science (Research) thesis [37]. The studies were conducted in Queensland (n = 3) and New South Wales (n = 3), Australia.…”

“…Convenience or purposive sampling was notably favored in all the included studies, with sample sizes ranging from 4 [37] to 4472 [35]. The 6 included studies recruited 4816 undergraduate nursing students: the 2 quantitative studies [34,35] combined recruited 4673 participants, and 3 of the qualitative studies [26,36,37] had less than 10 participants each.…”

“…The instruments used in the two quantitative studies [34,35] included a questionnaire developed by the authors and administrative data from the Student Management System, respectively. A descriptive qualitative design [26,33,36] and a phenomenological study design [37] were used in the included qualitative studies. Moreover, three of the qualitative studies [26,36,37] used interviews and one study [33] used an open-ended electronic questionnaire.…”

“…Nursing students from regional, rural, and remote areas face additional challenges and barriers to completing their university nursing studies in a country as vast as Australia [22,23]. These nursing students are often at high risk of dropping out due to additional challenges, including loneliness and isolation if they are away from family support, as well as difficulties with course engagement [24][25][26]. Early identification of these challenges and barriers is essential for promoting nursing students' success and increasing their retention rates.…”