THE CLINICAL LEARNING-ENVIRONMENT - NURSES PERCEPTIONS OF PROFESSIONAL-DEVELOPMENT IN CLINICAL SETTINGS

Although the complexity of the working environment of Registered Nurse s has been acknowledged, the relationship between the social context o f work and perceptions of professional development have not been syste matically studied. This research was designed to identify and explore the attributes of effective learning environments in clinical settings . Following an initial exploratory study of perceptions and experience s of registered and student nurses, a conceptual framework was develop ed and tested. The findings of the study ware based on responses to a questionnaire (n = 516) which was developed as a tool for assessing or ganisational and social factors associated with perceived professional development in clinical settings. There was a significant and positiv e correlation between professional development and six independent var iables: Autonomy and Recognition, Role Clarity, Job Satisfaction, Qual ity of Supervision, Peer Support and Opportunities for Learning. These variables accounted for almost 40% of the variance in perceived profe ssional development. There were differences between hositals and wards on most of the independent variables suggesting that some wards and i nstitutions are more conductive to learning than others. The implicati ons of the findings in terms of further research and practice are disc ussed.