Learning about user participation among nursing students: A qualitative study

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Rehabilitation Practice
• Healthcare Professional Development

Background:

• User participation is vital in nursing, particularly in rehabilitation, to promote patient independence.
• Legal mandates require nursing students to learn about user participation.
• Understanding the 'what' and reflecting on the 'how' of user participation are key to developing nursing skills.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore how nursing students learn to implement user participation within rehabilitation settings.
• To identify factors influencing the development of user participation skills in student nurses.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative study employing content analysis with inductive and deductive approaches.
• Data collected from 11 second and third-year bachelor nursing students via two focus groups.
• Analysis of 28 written reflections and 31 written work requirements from student internships in community health services and hospitals.

Main Results:

• Barriers to learning user participation include reliance on checklists and organizational planning.
• Dialogue with supervisors and peers is identified as a critical tool for enhancing student learning.
• Reflection on user participation, especially with supervisors, is essential for building student confidence and competence.

Conclusions:

• Students demonstrate a lack of competence in user participation, with limited discussion from supervisors.
• Mandatory reflection notes on user participation during internships are recommended.
• University educators should train supervisors and develop courses on mentorship and user participation to address the theory-practice gap.