Strategies for Nursing Instructors to Keep Students in the Learning Zone: A Narrative Review of the Literature

Clinical experiences can be stressful for students. Instructors can have a positive impact on learning, but have also been identified as a potential source of stress among many nursing students.

This review was conducted to identify strategies that instructors can implement to create a positive environment and maximize learning.

A narrative review was conducted to explore current literature for instructor strategies that promote learning among undergraduate nursing students in the clinical setting.

Fourteen articles were identified, from which 6 themes to support clinical learning emerged: open communication, approachability and accessibility, role modeling, empathy, clinical-specific orientation, and effective feedback delivery.

The findings reaffirm existing literature and highlight the need for quantitative research and consistent application of effective strategies. Integrating novel frameworks to apply these approaches will help instructors support students to remain in the learning zone and improve clinical learning outcomes.