Surviving today: Learning for tomorrow. An ethographic study of how undergraduate nursing students manage their own learning in clinical practice

Abstract

This ethnography is an account of the journey through clinical placements that undergraduate student nurses take as part of a three year programme. It describes how they attempt to manage their own learning, and analyses the factors that appear to facilitate or impede their ability to be self-directed in learning to nurse. Conclusions are drawn from their experiences, suggesting how curricula could be developed to further enable self-directness to be achieved. Action learning strategies, introduced to the undergraduate programme as a result of findings from the study, are described.

The research was planned in two stages, an initial stage using focus groups a preparation for entering the culture, and a second stage involving participant observation and reflective interviews. Data was analysed using a modified grounded theory approach.

The nature of support provided for participant in practice was found to be the most significant factor in enabling students to manage their own learning. This led to the conclusion that - students are best able to manage their own learning in clinical practice when they are actively involved and facilitated to learn by 'mentors' who allow them the freedom to take risks, and provide a 'safety net' to protect them in taking such an approach.

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