Challenges faced by student nurses and midwives in clinical learning environment – A systematic review and meta-synthesis

OBJECTIVES: This systematic review aimed to offer insight and understanding, through synthesis of findings from studies that report on perspectives of student nurses/midwives, clinical instructors, clinical nurses/midwives on the challenges faced by student nurses/midwives in the clinical learning environment (CLE). DESIGN: All primary qualitative research studies published in the English language that reported on the views of student nurses/midwives, clinical instructors and clinical nurses/midwives on the challenges faced by student nurses/midwives in the CLE were included. DATA SOURCES: The electronic databases of Medline EBSCO (1946-), CINAHL (1970), Embase Ovid (1974-), ScielO, WHOLIS (2002-), ASSIA (1985-), Web of Science (1956-), PsycINFO (1800s-) and Maternal and Infant Care (1970-) were searched in November 2019. REVIEW METHODS: Retrieved papers were reviewed independently by two authors for selection by title, abstract and full text, and two authors agreed for inclusion of the papers. The COREQ criteria checklist was used for assessment of methodological quality of the included studies. RESULTS: The review included 32 studies published over 22 years between 1997 and 2019 involving 853 nursing/midwifery students, clinical instructors, and clinical nurses/midwives from 14 countries. Three key themes emerged: 'The support structure', 'Personal factors', and 'Planning and organisation - influence of extrinsic factors'. CONCLUSION: Attitude of clinical staff, instructors, and significant others had a major influence on students' clinical learning. Lack of a sense of belongingness and self-motivation to learn, and perceived fear of doing errors were some of the demotivating factors. Lack of resources to facilitate need-based training, staff shortages, workload and inconsistencies between theory and practice were other key challenges in the CLE. Understanding the challenges faced by students in clinical practice can help overcome the barriers leading to development of competent and confident nurses and midwives.