The duration of clinical placements: a key influence on nursing students’ experience of belongingness

Objective: This paper reports selected findings from a study that investigated nursing students’ experience of belongingness. The manner in which this experience is influenced by the duration of students’ clinical placements is the focus of the discussion.Design: A mixed method, multi?site case study approach using an anonymous online survey: the Belongingness Scale ? Clinical Placement Experience was completed by 362 students, 18 of whom also participated in semi?structured interviews.Setting: The setting for the study was two Australian universities and one university in the United Kingdom offering undergraduate nursing programs.Subjects: Third year undergraduate students (n=362) were recruited into the study.Main outcome measureNurses experience of belongingness and the influence of the duration of clinical placement on the experience of belongingness.Results: Students’ self?concept, degree of self?efficacy, confidence, resilience, willingness to question or conform to poor practice, career decisions, capacity and motivation to learn were all impacted by the extent to which they experienced belongingness. Differences in belongingness scores between the students from the three sites were statistically significant, with participants from the United Kingdom scoring higher than those from either of the Australian sites, F(2, 355) = 21.70, p = <.001, ?p2 = 0.11. Although the reasons for these results are multifactorial, this study found the duration and structure of clinical placements to be one of the most important factors affecting students’ belongingness.Conclusion: A consolidated period of practice for students to ‘settle in’ and establish collegial relationships is an important influence on their experience of belonging and a necessary precursor to their active and participative learning. Findings from this study call for a re?examination of the assumptions, educational philosophies, policies and practices that underpin the duration of clinical placements in contemporary undergraduate nursing programs.