Where in the World? Creating a Map Application to Support Nursing Students

Background: Successful completion of professional experience placement is a key factor for student progress through pre-licensure nursing programmes and subsequent registration as a nurse. Professional experience placement can be a time when students feel the impact of intersectional challenges, and is a point in which attrition occurs. A regional university partnered with their spatial analysis unit to create a customised, interactive, digital map application to support students undertaking professional experience placement. Purpose: This research aimed to identify whether a custom-designed digital map application reduced student self-perceived stress, promoted ongoing connection with theoretical learning, and facilitated more reliable access to internet technology during professional experience placement. Methods: An online survey using homogenous purposive sampling was used to gather data. Quantitative analysis used the Exact Wilcoxon-Pratt Signed Rank Test and the Kruskal-Wallis Rank Sum Test to further analyse the data in accordance with specific demographics. Conclusions: Difference between pre- and post-intervention response rates was suggestive, indicating that the map application contributed to improving students' experience in two key areas: self-reported personal, financial, and family stress; and ongoing connection with theoretical learning using technology while undertaking professional experience placement. Implications for Practice: This research evidences one way in which universities can support students during professional experience placement, opening opportunities for other disciplines who use work-integrated learning opportunities to explore the impact a customised digital map application may have on student experiences.