Final‐year nursing students' placement experiences in a critical care setting: A qualitative study

Resumo

Background Traditionally, ward placements have been utilized for nursing students to refine their management skills before registration. Whilst intensive care units (ICUs) offer unique learning opportunities, they are underutilized for student practice, and limited research has examined ICUs as conducive environments for developing management skills. Aim This qualitative study aimed to explore the experiences of nursing students during their final‐year placement in critical care. Study Design An inductive methodology was employed to explore the complexities of being a final‐year nursing student in critical care setting. Ten students were recruited between September 2019 and February 2020. Data were collected using individual, face‐to‐face semi‐structured interviews before the Covid‐19 pandemic. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the interview data. Results Three themes were identified: barriers to learning, empowering transformation and a state of readiness. All the nursing students valued a placement that provided ‘real learning’ experiences and informed their needs and growth. Coaching and constructive feedback provided crucial markers and influenced students' learning performance. As their confidence increased, students became proactive in identifying complex caring activities to test and refine their knowledge and skills. Students visualized themselves working as a registered nurse within the critical care team. Conclusions With appropriate support and supervision, a c

Tipo

Artigo

Área

Enfermagem

Ano

2025

Idioma

Inglês

Licença

CC BY

DOI

10.1111/nicc.13286

Como citar (ABNT)

EDMONDS, Mary; ABDULMOHDI, Naim. Final‐year nursing students' placement experiences in a critical care setting: A qualitative study. Nursing in Critical Care, v. 30, n. 2, 2025. DOI: 10.1111/nicc.13286.