The clinical environment – do student nurses belong? A review of Australian literature

Abstract

This paper aims to identify some of the issues related to the nursing students’ experience of belonging on clinical placements from the current Australian literature. Anecdotal and empirical evidence suggests that nursing students on clinical placements often experience problems that can adversely affect their feeling of belonging in the clinical setting and ultimately their career decisions. As nursing shortages increase, retention of student nurses in their chosen profession is often affected by their clinical experiences, both positively and negatively