Becoming a caring nurse--a Nordic study on students' learning and development in clinical education

The aim of this study was to elucidate the meaning and deepen the understanding of student learning and development in becoming a nurse. Data were collected from focus group interviews with students from three different universities and analysed using a phenomenological-hermeneutical method. The comprehensive understanding of student learning and development in becoming a nurse resulted in two constituents: the prerequisites for learning and development, and itineraries for learning and development. The prerequisites consisted of a caring relationship as the foundation for learning and development, and will and motivation for learning and development. The itineraries for learning and development involved pushing boundaries through challenges and support, and of a synthesis of theory and praxis through reflection. Caring relationships can be seen as the foundation for student learning and development and as a prerequisite for becoming a nurse. Learning is not merely a skills-acquisition procedure but a transforming experience for students, who feel that their whole existence has been altered. It is time to move beyond examining student learning and development merely from an epistemological perspective and start focussing on the ontological aspect of learning, on the processes of transformation and becoming a nurse.