Giving students the confidence to take part.

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Clinical Skills Development
• Healthcare Workforce Integration

Background:

• First clinical placements are crucial for nursing students' professional development.
• Assessing student nurses' confidence and team acceptance is vital for effective training.
• Understanding student experiences informs pedagogical approaches in nursing programs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore nursing students' confidence and team acceptance during their initial clinical placement.
• To identify factors influencing the integration of student nurses into ward teams.
• To evaluate the impact of specific teaching strategies on student nurse performance.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative study involving six 45-minute interviews with diploma-level nursing students.
• Data collection conducted in a large teaching hospital in Dublin.
• Focus on student experiences during a general nursing training program.

Main Results:

• Repeated demonstration of procedures by registered nurses significantly enhances student learning.
• Students who repeatedly practice procedures gain confidence and become more productive team members.
• Effective skill demonstration accelerates the assimilation of nursing students into the clinical environment.

Conclusions:

• Structured, repetitive procedural demonstrations are key to building nursing student confidence.
• Facilitating students' productivity enhances their acceptance and integration into healthcare teams.
• Nursing education strategies should prioritize hands-on, repeated practice for clinical skill acquisition.