UNDERGRADUATE NURSING-STUDENTS PERCEPTIONS OF THEIR CLINICAL LEARNING-ENVIRONMENT

The clinical learning environment (CLE) is an interactive network of f orces influencing student learning outcomes in the clinical setting. T his study used mixed methods to identify factors characterizing studen ts' perceptions of the CLE. The sample consisted of 229 undergraduate students in the second or third year of their biophysical nursing stra nd. The five subscales of the Clinical Learning Environment Scale, 'st aff-student relationships', 'nurse manager commitment', 'patient relat ionships', 'student satisfaction' and 'hierarchy and ritual', were sup ported by qualitative data obtained from student interviews. Interpers onal relationships between the participants in the CLE were crucial to the development of a positive learning environment. Student satisfact ion with the CLE was both a result of, and influential in creating, a positive learning environment. Nurse educators, clinical venues, and a ll others participating in the undergraduate nursing students' clinica l education, must collaborate in order to create a CLE which promotes the development of well-educated registered nurses capable of providin g safe, cost-effective patient care.