The best and the worst: students' experiences of clinical education

This paper reports on a component of a research project that was designed to identify the attributes of clinical settings which support learning. Thirty final semester nursing students were interviewed and asked to describe their best clinical learning experience. Students valued positive relations with ward staff and appreciated recognition for their contribution to patient care. The need to belong and be accepted by the ward staff was a common theme throughout all the interviews. Students enjoyed being busy and having an appropriate level of autonomy but found this difficult to achieve unless their role as students was clear to ward staff. The clinical lecturers' role appeared to be one of facilitation rather than instruction. The findings emphasise the importance of the culture of the workplace in determining the success of the learning experience. Implications for clinical education and directions for future research are discussed.