Nursing Degree students' perception about their clinical practice environment: a phenomenological study

Abstract

Aim: To explore the perception of fourth-year nursing students of the healthcare environment where their training process in clinical practices takes place.

Methods: Phenomenological qualitative study based on the hermeneutical philosophy of Gádamer that included the development of focus groups and semi-structured interviews in a sample of fourth-year nursing students from the University of Almería. The collection period was in February 2016. The information obtained was transcribed and analyzed by inductive strategies in search of emerging categories.

Results: The analysis revealed two main categories: (1) influence of the clinical environment on the healthcare and teaching performance of nurses and on student learning and (2) training and job prospects for the future professionals. Each of them showed two subcategories with their corresponding codes. The information collected showed the experiences and perceptions of Nursing students regarding the healthcare environment where their training process in clinical practices takes place.

Conclusions: This study enabled us to discover the perception of fourth-year nursing students of the environment where their training process in clinical practices takes place. Knowledge of this phenomenon helps to identify deficits in students' clinical learning and to adapt university curricula to their training needs in order to guarantee their success as professionals facing future clinical-labour demands.

Keywords: Ambiente de trabajo; Aprendizaje; Clinical clerkship; Enfermería; Estudiantes de Enfermería; Learning; Nursing; Nursing students; Prácticas clínicas; Working environment.