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Abstract:
This paper is concerned with the relationship between student and clinical supervisor (known as a mentor) and its influence on nursing students' development of professional knowledge during his or her clinical practice. The paper is based on the results from a longitudinal naturalistic study of eight nursing degree students during their four-year programme. The study was concerned with investigating and describing how nursing students develop their professional knowledge while working in clinical areas. During the data collection and analysis it became evident that the influence of the clinical mentor and the nature of the relationship were central to students' knowledge growth. By undertaking a content analysis for the relevant data and using an inductive approach, five key aspects of the student-mentor relationship emerged. These five aspects will be presented and discussed along with the implications for nurse education and the role of clinical staff.