Professional Experience Placement

This paper by Walker et al (2014) undertook an online survey to elicit data from student nurses’ to gain  understanding about how they construct their identity when undertaking work integrated learning.

The authors report they found five elements to explain how undergraduate nurses constructed their identity as nurses.  These were:

• Positive role models
• Belonging
• Peer support
• Critical thinking abilities
• Confidence.

Walker et al (2014) discusses the findings within each of these elements. Importantly for clinical supervision it is useful to know that a lack of interest from staff that made the students feel like a burden, created negative experiences, and hindered the construction of nursing identity. Belonging was important for feeling included and accepted. Students understood that critical thinking was important for developing a positive identity. Peer support was another element where students found team work was beneficial for developing the nursing role. Lastly, non-judgemental interactions and not feeling pressured were important for developing confidence. The authors recommended that educators need to ensure that wor integrated learning (WIL) experiences provide opportunities for students to move through each of the key elements to develop their nursing identity, and students also need to be aware of the elements to ensure they seek learning opportunities during WIL to meet each element.

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