The Swedish version of Clinical Learning Environment, Supervision and Nurse Teacher evaluation scale has satisfactory psychometric properties and could be a useful quality instrument in nursing education. However, further investigation is required to develop and evaluate the questionnaire.
BackgroundLearning in the clinical environment is an important part of nursing education. Several recent studies focusing on clinical learning have been based on hospital settings. Little is known about primary health care (PHC) as clinical environment where district nurses (DNs) or nurses supervise students. It is important to understand more about opportunities and difficulties in supervising in this area in order to develop PHC as an optimal learning environment for nursing students. The main objective of this study was to gain an understanding of supervisors’ experiences of supervising undergraduate students at PHC units.MethodsA qualitative research approach was used to collect data and analyse supervisors’ experiences. Six focus groups were carried out with 24 supervisors. Focus group data were audio-taped. The data were analysed using an inductive content analysis.ResultsThree themes illustrated supervisors’ experiences: abandonment, ambivalence and sharing the holistic approach. Supervisors felt abandoned by their managers, colleagues and nurse teachers from universities. They experienced ambivalence due to simultaneously being supervisors for students and carrying out their daily work with patients. At the same time, they were proud to be DNs and willing to share their unique role to apply a holistic approach and continuity in patient care with students.ConclusionWhen supervising students in PHC, social support and communication between supervisors and their colleagues and management as well as nurse teachers need to be taken into consideration both at universities and at primary health care units.
BackgroundPrimary healthcare in Sweden and worldwide has a diverse structure with many kinds of healthcare units involved. This is a challenge for collaboration between different professions in primary healthcare, as the different healthcare professions often work in silos. Interprofessional education (IPE) in the context of primary healthcare is less studied than IPE at hospitals and most of the studies in primary healthcare have focused on collaboration between general practitioners and nurses. The aim of this study was to describe how healthcare students perceived conditions for IPE in primary healthcare.MethodsQualitative group interviews were used and a total of 26 students, recruited on a voluntary basis participated in four group interviews with students mixed from study programmes in nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy and medicine. Students from the study programme in medicine were in their second to eleventh semesters of 11 semesters in total, whilst students from the occupational therapist, physiotherapist and nursing programmes were in their fourth to sixth of six semesters in total.ResultsOur findings indicated one theme: Students perceived a need for support and awareness of IPE from both study programmes and clinical placements. Five categories were found to belong to the theme. Students’ tunnel-vision focus on their own profession may have affected their ability to collaborate with students from other professions. The nature of the patients’ healthcare problems decided if they were perceived as suitable for IPE. Clinical supervisors’ support for and attitude towards IPE were important. The hierarchy between different professions was perceived as a hindrance for seeking help from the other professions. The students asked for more collaboration between different study programmes, in order to gain knowledge about the roles and responsibilities of the other professions.ConclusionsIn conclusion, students in this study considered it essential for different study programmes and clinical placements to be more aware of the opportunities for and importance of IPE. The study identified conditions that were required for IPE in primary healthcare that may be helpful for healthcare teachers and clinical supervisors to better understand how students perceive IPE in primary healthcare, thus facilitating the planning of IPE.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12909-018-1245-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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