Improving clinical experiences for nursing students in nursing homes: An integrative literature review

Well-organized clinical placements in older adult care settings will prepare nursing students to provide care for this growing population and may influence career choices. The purpose of this integrative review is to identify strategies that can be used to provide student nurses with effective clinical education experiences in residential aged care facilities offering skilled nursing (RACF-SNs). Twenty-three studies evaluating teaching and learning models and experiences were reviewed. Four themes were identified related to effective strategies for providing gerontological clinical education to students in residential aged care environments, principally nursing homes. These were: developing a partnership, comprehensive orientation, effective supervision for students, and supporting staff. Eight different models were described for enhancing clinical learning experiences in these environments. These models reflect the themes highlighted in the review. Relevance of the findings to a conceptual framework for evaluating gerontological clinical placements, the Senses Framework, is considered. Strong partnerships between schools of nursing and residential aged care environments can provide well-organized clinical education to undergraduate nursing students. To be sustainable, these partnerships must be developed in ways that do not require significant additional resources. A guideline for this process based on findings of the review has been developed.