Student Perceptions of Community Clinical Experiences in Maternal-Child Nursing

Securing acute care inpatient sites for specialties such as maternal and pediatric nursing is challenging. Alternative opportunities include simulation and a variety of community, outpatient, and other nontraditional sites that can expand and diversify learning opportunities for undergraduate nursing students. Students in a maternal-child course in an accelerated BSN program earned part of their clinical hours in community settings and completed guided reflection journals to describe their learning experiences. Analysis of student comments revealed positive experiences that impacted student knowledge, skills, and attitudes about populations and nursing outside the acute care setting.