“I know exactly what I'm going into”: recommendations for pre‐nursing experience from an evaluation of a pre‐nursing scholarship in rural Scotland

Abstract

AimTo develop a model of pre‐nursing experience from evaluation of a pre‐nursing scholarship for school pupils in Scotland.DesignAction research study.MethodsSchool pupils (n = 42) completed questionnaire surveys and participated in anecdote circles. Student nurses acting as pupil ‘buddies’ (n = 33) participated in focus groups. Descriptive quantitative data and thematic analyses of qualitative data were integrated across cohorts and campuses.ResultsTen recommended components of a model of pre‐nursing experience were identified: educational experience of: (1) face‐to‐face on‐campus teaching; (2) hands‐on clinical skills sessions; and (3) andragogy, practice exposure to (4) nursing language; (5) nurses’ emotional labour; (6) patients’ stories; (7) pupils socializing with buddies; (8) buddies planning placement activities; and (9) supporting pupils during placements. Academic attainment was not a central component of the model due to pupils’ need to (10) prioritize examined work for further/higher education entry.

“Am I a student or a Healthcare Assistant?” A qualitative evaluation of a programme of prenursing care experience

“…() and Smith et al. () the participants in this research felt hands‐on care experience had helped them to develop a true insight and understanding of a caring role. However, it is essential that care experiences prior to nurse education do not socialize aspirant nurses into accepting poor standards of care (Council of Deans of Health, ) and therefore how care experience shapes individuals’ understanding of care and the nursing role is important.…”

“…In contrast with Smith et al. () whose prenursing scholarship students were supported by qualified nurses and student nurses, this programme relied on employment of individuals into HCA roles. The opportunity to test out a career in nursing by working as a HCA has some challenges.…”

“…In contrast, there is an emerging evidence base that considers the experience of individuals prior to commencing nurse education. Examples include Beattie, Smith, and Kyle () and Smith, Beattie, and Kyle () who examined a two week programme of care experience. Findings revealed the experience helped aspirant nurses make decisions about their career.…”

Nursing students’ experiences of working as healthcare support workers

“…Overall, 954 records were identified through database and hand searching. After duplicates were removed and the remaining 600 records screened using their title and abstract, 30 were screened as full-text documents, which resulted in eight papers being included in the literature review (Algoso and Peters 2012, Hasson et al 2013a, 2013b, Annear et al 2014, Draper et al 2014, Smith et al 2015, Whiffin et al 2018, Draper 2018.…”

“…newly qualified nurse role, finding there was complex role and identity navigation which is linked to the importance of relationships. Whiffin et al (2018) undertook a longitudinal prospective study from the perspective of HCSWs who were going on to become nursing students, while Smith et al (2015) undertook a mixed methods study of pre-nursing scholarship school pupils and nursing students who were acting as pupil "buddies" to the scholarship students. .…”