Accompaniment needs of first year nursing students in the clinical learning environment

The clinical learning environment creates many opportunitics for student learning and the development of critical competencies in the nursing profession. The learning that takes place in this environment, however, confronts the first year nursing student with challenges that are absent from the classroom situation and causes the student to experience a significant amount of uncertainty and anxiety. The study revealed that the students experience uncertainty due to the lack of opportunities to develop competence in providing nursing care. The contributing factors towards this experience are: unavailability and inaccessibility of staff due to time constraints; shortage and/or absence of equipment to fulfil nursing duties and meet the needs of patients; conflict in the expectations of nursing school personnel and clinical nursing personnel in hospitals, as well as a lack of awareness among senior professionals of the needs and problems of first year nursing students in the clinical health care environment. Furthermore the students experienced the nature of the clinical learning programme as disrupting the continuity in patient care learning experiences, and the guidance and support by nursing personnel in the clinical learning environment as inadequate. The aim of this study was to reflect the importance of effective accompaniment by tutors/mentors, personnel in the clinical environment and any other person involved in the education of the first year nursing student, to prepare and enable him/her to become a knowledgeable, safe, competent nursing practitioner.