A case study exploring the experience of graduate entry nursing students when learning in practice

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Graduate Attributes
• Professional Identity

Background:

• Nurse education faces challenges from pro- and anti-intellectualist viewpoints.
• Graduate Entry Nursing programs aim to attract graduates, leveraging their specific attributes ('graduateness').
• This creates a complex learning environment for students entering the nursing profession.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore how Graduate Entry Nursing students present and position themselves in practice.
• To understand their responses to anti-intellectualist stereotypes and assessment structures.
• To examine the interplay between student strategies and practitioner perceptions.

Main Methods:

• A longitudinal qualitative case study design over two years.
• Data collection included student diaries, clinical assessments, and interviews (n=40).
• Focus groups with practice assessors (n=12) and social constructivist analysis were employed.

Main Results:

• Students employed performance strategies to challenge or preempt negative stereotypes from established practitioners.
• These strategies aimed to gain acceptance, reduce perceived threat, and demonstrate competence.
• The interplay revealed how students navigated these dynamics to achieve favorable personal outcomes.

Conclusions:

• Graduate Entry Nursing students actively interpreted and responded to perceived stereotypes in practice.
• They developed creative, self-affirming strategies to manage expectations and gain acceptance.
• These adaptive strategies often involved suppressing attributes associated with 'graduateness'.