Student nurse satisfaction: implications for the common foundation programme

This decade has seen a major restructuring of pre-registration nurse education within the higher education system that was costly and initially largely unpopular with qualified nurses and students. Major flaws have been identified in the common foundation programme (CFP) and student attrition rates remain too high. Our detailed survey of student satisfaction within the CFP shows that clinical placement is the most popular course component and that poor organization remains the worst aspect of the course. Teaching was more highly regarded than the organizational component of the course, although students found room for improvement. Core teaching modules such as bioscience and nursing interventions achieved better ratings than supporting modules, for example social policy or research and reflection on practice. The establishment of contact between personal tutors and students appeared to be slow. The described deficiencies have since been addressed in curriculum planning and the development of new course structure.