L. Baillie, FACTORS AFFECTING STUDENT NURSES LEARNING IN COMMUNITY PLACEMENTS - APHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY, Journal of advanced nursing, 18(7), 1993, pp. 1043-1053
The study aimed to explore the question, what actors affect student nu
rse learning in a community setting? A phenomenological approach was t
aken by carrying out in-depth interviews with eight Project 2000 stude
nts who had just completed 8 weeks of community placements. The factor
s which emerged centred around three themes: the students themselves,
the mentors and the placements. Students recognized that their own app
roach to the placement was important. They found that the role they fu
lfilled in the placements affected their learning, preferring a partic
ipative role to observation only. The role of the mentor was found to
be crucial for learning. Important factors were the mentors' knowledge
and attitude towards the Project 2000 course and their professionalis
m (particularly communication skills), as perceived by the students. A
lso significant were the mentors' skills at facilitating learning in t
he placements, by encouraging questions and reflection, and organizing
a variety of experiences. Factors relating to the placements concerne
d their relevance to the course (as perceived by the students) and the
breadth of experience available. Whilst this was a small sample, from
which no generalizations can be made, the study gives insight into st
udents, teachers and community staff of the experience of learning in
the community setting.