The intensive care unit as an untapped learning resource: a student perspective

The nursing student's clinical experience serves to form a bridge between the theoretical knowledge of the classroom and its application to patient care. The intensive care unit (ICU) has not traditionally been considered an ideal placement for undergraduate nursing students (Ballard & Trowbridge, 2004). However, in the fall of 2008, with a rise in enrolment, the school was faced with finding more clinical sites to accommodate our placement needs. Twelve of our students in the first semester of their second year of the baccalaureate program were challenged with meeting the objectives of our curriculum in four of the ICUs located in our partnering hospitals at the McGill University Health Centre. The successful outcome of this rotation, from both a student and a faculty perspective, was that this critical care experience facilitated a strong clinical foundation, a comprehensive view of health and illness, and a direct link between theory and practice (Hoffman, 2001). The purpose of this article is to share the personal experiences of the student nurses who completed their first medical-surgical rotation in a critical care setting. We will also discuss how this setting can contribute to the enrichment of future nursing education and practice.