Premium
Undergraduate student nurses’ perspectives of an integrated clinical learning model in the mental health environment
Author(s) -
Boardman Gayelene,
Lawrence Karen,
Polacsek Meg
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
international journal of mental health nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.911
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1447-0349
pISSN - 1445-8330
DOI - 10.1111/inm.12496
Subject(s) - bachelor , workforce , preparedness , nursing , mental health , thematic analysis , nurse education , medicine , norwegian , medical education , focus group , psychology , qualitative research , history , economic growth , social science , linguistics , philosophy , business , archaeology , marketing , psychiatry , sociology , political science , law , economics
Providing nursing students with appropriate clinical practice during their undergraduate programme is critical to ensuring that graduates meet the competency requirements to gain registration as a nurse. In response to the predicted nursing workforce shortage, universities have been significantly increasing the enrolment of undergraduate nurses into Bachelor of Nursing courses. This has placed a demand on the availability of clinical placements and often universities struggle to find appropriate places. In this study, a Bachelor of Nursing course incorporated an Integrated Clinical Learning Model (ICLM) for the first time during a mental health placement. The model offered students the flexibility of attending their clinical placement over a 16‐week period instead of a traditional block of 4 weeks. The aim of this study was to evaluate the student perspective of this model and whether it prepared them for the nursing workforce. Focus groups were conducted with undergraduate nursing students following their mental health clinical placement at an acute and extended care inpatient unit. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Main themes included preparedness for practice, maintaining a work–life balance, and perceiving they were part of a team. The ICLM deepened students’ knowledge and had a positive impact on their overall clinical learning.