“Staff nurses and students: the good, the bad, and the ugly” is a study that was conducted by Koontz et al. on Clinical Learning Environment (Koontz, 2010). The learning environments are hospitals, doctor’s office, health department and any other healthcare setting used for students learning. Clinical Learning Environment is different from a class as it is unpredictable and can’t be controlled by an instructor. This study explores the student-nurse perception of CLE with the idea of learning the positive and negative factors influencing learner.
Among student nurses, the CLE is said to be an influential context for gaining nursing skills and knowledge. There are different stages of acquiring knowledge in a clinical environment which include novice stage, advanced beginner stage, competent stage, and proficient stage. According to the author, clinical knowledge does not only rely on principles of theory but also involve patient interaction and response to care. Additionally, the author outlines the development of perceptual awareness as the ability to know the important information from the unimportant and helps the students get the best from the environment. Finally, the study shows that the expertise of a nurse is not entirely attained in class but comes from interacting with the environment.
The study shows that there are other factors that influence perception that includes and not limited to the staff-student relationship, nurse-manager commitment, patient relationship, and student satisfaction. A positive learning environment brings student satisfaction and good collaboration which leads to the production of well-educated and competent nurses.
There is a degree to which CLE affects nurses’ perception of their profession. The study addressed the positive impacts of CLE such as teamwork, responsibility and trust, reflection and, self-confidence. The study also emphasized the need for preceptorship among clinical staff as it’s a way of maximizing the benefits of clinical nursing education and it’s also important to identify and solve problems.
- Koontz, A. M. (2010). Staff nurses and students: the good, the bad, and the ugly. Medsurg Nursing, 19(4), 240-246.