The supervision of Project 2000 students in the clinical setting: issues and implications for practitioners

The aim of this 2-year study funded by the English National Board for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting was to examine the relationship between teaching, support, supervision and role modelling in student clinical learning within the context of Project 2000 courses. The research, using a two-stage case-study design, employing predominantly qualitative methods of data collection, investigated the perceptions of students, tutors and practitioners of their experiences of these processes in the clinical setting. This paper focuses on the findings obtained from the practitioner data, high-lighting not only the significant role played by practitioners in facilitating student learning, but also the implications for practitioners in undertaking this role. The preparation required for supervising clinical learning, the integration of theory and practice and the organization of patient care have been identified as particularly important to the development of effective clinical learning environments.