Nurses' experiences of learning to care in practice environments: A qualitative study

Area of Science:

• Nursing Practice
• Healthcare Education
• Patient Care

Background:

• A global "crisis of care" highlights the absence of caring behaviours in health services.
• Policies are being developed to address this critical shortfall in healthcare.
• Understanding caring behaviours and their impact on nursing education is essential.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore accounts of caring behaviours and attitudes in nursing practice.
• To identify how nurses manage student learning within caring contexts.
• To understand the student experience of learning caring behaviours.

Main Methods:

• Appreciative inquiry principles were utilized.
• Focus groups were conducted with nursing students, mentors, link lecturers, and practice educators (n=69).
• Data was gathered from university and hospital settings across two NHS England Regions.

Main Results:

• Participants described skillful, caring nursing practices with numerous examples.
• Four key themes emerged: "going the extra mile," time investment, personalized care, and communication/role modeling.
• Students valued positive caring attitudes and behaviors towards patients, staff, and work.

Conclusions:

• Sustaining emotional connections with patients significantly framed student learning.
• Nurses who maintained caring practices under pressure were identified as key role models.
• Findings reinforce theoretical links between caring behaviours and resilience in nursing.