Student Nurses’ Assessment of Pedagogical Atmosphere on the Ward During Practical Placement at a University Hospital in Lithuania
BACKGROUND. The achievement of student nurses’ learning outcomes in a clinical setting will depend not only on the mentor’s and student’s approach toward clinical training, but also on organizational features of an institution where practical placement is based and on readiness of the whole unit to teach and assess a student by creating a positive pedagogical atmosphere. The aim of the study was to assess a pedagogical atmosphere of practical placement as the dimension of a clinical learning environment for student nurses at a university hospital in Lithuania. MATERIAL AND METHODS. Student nurses (from year 1 to year 4) from Vilnius University, Vilnius College, and Utena College, who had their practical placement at a university hospital, took part in the anonymous survey from January 2012 to May 2013. A clinical learning environment scale was used in a web-based version. The instrument was translated into Lithuanian and piloted during one of the previous studies within the international project (2003–2005). RESULTS. Near half (42.1%) of the study participants expressed their satisfaction with the recently completed period of their practical placement, and 29.0% were very satisfied. Student nurses’ satisfaction with clinical placement was not related to their age and year of education (P=0.060). The overall assessment of pedagogical atmosphere on the ward positively correlated with the duration of practical placement (r=0.161, P<0.01). The majority of the student nurses were supervised by a registered nurse (N=168) and a ward manager (N=147) during clinical training. Student nurses mostly estimated their individual input into clinical training as high (N=158) or very high (N=105). CONCLUSIONS. The possibility to refer to staff and a positive atmosphere in the unit was rated at the highest level by student nurses. Students who noticed the highest individual input to their clinical training evaluated clinical learning environment at the best. A longer duration of clinical training correlated with better ratings of pedagogical atmosphere on the ward. Students reported to have benefited most from being supervised by an individual mentor.
Correspondence to O. Riklikienė Correspondence to Olga Riklikienė, Nursing Department, Faculty of Nursing, Medical Academy, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Eivenių 4, Kaunas, LT-50161, Lithuania. olga.riklikiene@lsmuni.lt