Exploring Student Nurses’ Learning Experience in the Clinical Setting: A Literature Review

Abstract

Background: Clinical practice is an important part of nursing education as it allows the student to
improve their clinical skills, apply theory with practice and also supports their professional growth.
It is known that student nurses perceive their clinical practice as rewarding but the clinical learning
environment is also presented with numerous challenges. The aim of this literature review is to explore
the student nurses’ learning experiences in the clinical setting.
Methods: To search for the research articles, PubMed and Sciencedirect databases were used. The
inclusion criteria for the research articles are that they must be published between 2010 until 2020,
with open access in English Language. Research articles must be looking at student nurses’ learning
experiences. Nine articles were included in this review.
Conclusion: Nursing students learn best in an environment that encourages collaborative learning, trust
and mutual respect, and a good student-nurse relationship influences the students’ learning experience
positively. Theory-practice gap, unclear role of student nurses in the clinical placement and negative
emotions hindered the learning experience for the students. It is recommended that the clinical instructor
shape the learning environment to meet the students’ education needs and to motivate the staff nurses to
take part in the student nurses’ education to decrease the barriers of effective learning.