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The Clinical Education Unit: An enhanced learning context for undergraduate Nursing students

Valerie Richardson
Belinda Fentiman
Robyn Nash
Pamela Lemcke
School of Nursing, Queensland University of Technology
 Jennifer Vakararawa
Royal Brisbane Hospital


The School of Nursing (QUT) has been at the forefront of pre-registration clinical education in Queensland, including the evolution of facilitation models such as secondment and preceptorship in addition to the usage of academic and sessional staff. As part of this ongoing process, a collaborative Royal Brisbane Hospital/QUT project team was established to pursue the development of an innovative model of clinical education and as a result of these activities, the Clinical Education Unit (CEU) was established to maximise the strengths of existing facilitation models within an enhanced clinical learning environment and to optimise students' clinical experience based explicitly on factors previously identified by students, facilitators and health care agency representatives as important aspects of clinical facilitation (Nash et al, 1997). These factors included access to facilitators who 'know' the organisation, facilitators who can 'bridge the gap' between classroom learning and practice and help students to build on previous learning, continuity of student placement, and a positive unit climate (Nash et al, 1997).

The aim of this project was to further improve the quality of undergraduate clinical education through the development, trialing and evaluation of an innovative model of clinical education for pre-registration nursing students undertaking clinical practicums at the Royal Brisbane Hospital (RBH). The specific objectives of the project were to:

The model was trialed during 1999 and involved second and third year students enrolled in the Bachelor of Nursing (Pre-registration) course at QUT. Two clinical units from the Royal Brisbane Hospital that offered the opportunity for students to gain a broad range of complex clinical experiences and whose staff volunteered to participate in the pilot project were selected. Features of the model include unit commitment to the clinical education of pre-registration nursing students; the provision of funds to the health care agency to enable registered nurses acting in the role of a Clinical Associates to facilitate student learning; nominated Clinical Partners who are registered nurses working on a 1:1 basis with students whilst undertaking their usual allocated clinical load; and the provision of academic support from QUT for staff and students throughout the practicum/s.

It was anticipated that the utilisation of the CEU model would impact positively on students' self reported satisfaction with the learning experience and development of required clinical competencies. Evaluation of the project, using qualitative and qualitative data collection methods, indicates that benefits associated with students undertaking clinical experience in the units include improved confidence and skill development, increased motivation, a focus on student learning and the opportunity to become part of the health care team.

Contact person: Valerie Richardson. Email: v.richardson@qut.edu.au Voice: +61(0)7 3864 3848

Please cite as: Richardson, V., Fentiman, B., Nash, R., Lemcke, P. and Vakararawa, J. (2000). The Clinical Education Unit: An enhanced learning context for undergraduate Nursing students. In Flexible Learning for a Flexible Society, Proceedings of ASET-HERDSA 2000 Conference. Toowoomba, Qld, 2-5 July. ASET and HERDSA. http://cleo.murdoch.edu.au/gen/aset/confs/aset-herdsa2000/abstracts/richardson-v-abs.html


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Created 22 June 2000. Last revised: 22 June 2000. HTML: Roger Atkinson [atkinson@cleo.murdoch.edu.au]
This URL: http://cleo.murdoch.edu.au/gen/aset/confs/aset-herdsa2000/abstracts/richardson-v-abs.html