Nurses new to intensive care: perceptions of their clinical learning environment

All nurses entering intensive care unit (ICU) for the first time are required to master many critical nursing skills. Providing a clinical learning environment that is, conducive to mastering these essential skills is a key component of ensuring clinical competence. Yet there are few publications worldwide that focus on clinical learning for qualified nurses entering ICU for the first time. Factors that affect clinical learning in ward environments have been clearly identified. It remains unclear if these factors are applicable to the ICU environment.

(1) To describe how registered nurses new to ICU environment perceive their clinical learning environment; (2) to identify the factors that influence these perceptions.

Descriptive quantitative survey design.

Sixty-four nurses were recruited from five Irish teaching hospitals. The participants completed a modified version of Dunn and Burnett's clinical learning environment scale, with five subscales, that measures perceived factors that influence clinical learning.

Nurses new to ICU perceived the environment as conducive to clinical learning. Factors positively affecting clinical learning include: educational staff and clinical nurse managers' commitment to supporting learning and good interpersonal relationships. Non-European qualified nurses who did not do an induction course and those with longest experience on the unit were more satisfied with ICU as a clinical learning.

These findings will provide nurse educationalists with some further insight as to the factors that promote optimal learning in ICU.