Toward creating an optimal acute care clinical learning environment: insights from staff, faculty, and students

Understanding how a clinical site impacts student learning was the focus for a participatory action research study in which three separate focus groups for students, faculty, and staff were convened. Participants were asked to identify what they enjoyed or liked about the clinical setting, what they disliked about the clinical setting, and what they would change about the clinical setting. Themes identified by a constant comparative method included experiences provided, attitudes, and expectations. Although the researchers anticipated that each group would have a unique and different perspective on the clinical experience, respondents were consistent in their beliefs both within and among groups. Of interest, each participant group attributed an ineffective clinical learning environment to external causes.