Clinical education models in rural practice settings: A scoping review

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Rural Health Workforce Development

Background:

• Limited clinical education opportunities in rural settings contribute to inadequate healthcare staffing.
• New graduate nurses often lack preparedness for rural practice due to insufficient exposure.
• Addressing the rural nursing shortage requires enhanced rural clinical learning experiences.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and synthesize literature on clinical nursing education models in rural settings.
• To understand effective clinical education models for rural nursing.
• To inform strategies for improving rural nursing education.

Main Methods:

• A scoping review was conducted.
• Methodology followed Arksey and O'Malley with Joanna Briggs Institute guidance.
• Data from 82 sources were analyzed.

Main Results:

• No distinct rural clinical nursing education model was identified.
• Preceptorship was the most common mentorship model (n=41).
• Block placements (1-16 weeks) were most frequent (n=41), often involving episodic care.
• Some programs offered multi-contextual rural learning (n=24).

Conclusions:

• Significant variability exists in rural clinical learning opportunities for nursing students.
• Academic-practice partnerships can enhance rural clinical education.
• Further research should evaluate the effectiveness of rural clinical education models.