Near Peer Learning to Facilitate Nursing Students’ First Medical Surgical Clinical Experience

Abstract

Introduction and Background: Ensuring an appropriate clinical experience for students is becoming more challenging in the context of a global nursing shortage, more acutely ill clientele, and limited numbers of educators, academics, and clinical instructors. Near peer learning activities (NPLA) have been shown to be effective and may help students to feel prepared and confident to begin the clinical rotation. This study explored nursing students’ experiences in their first medical-surgical practicum following a NPLA involving health and physical assessment (HPA).

Methods: Educators at one Canadian university recently designed and implemented a NPLA in the clinical setting where junior nursing students performed a focused health and physical assessment on a patient, in an acute medical-surgical unit with the guidance of senior students. Ten nursing students who took part in the NPLA were individually interviewed. Thematic content analysis was used to generate the themes.

Findings: Following the NPLA, two main themes captured the essence of the students’ experience: a) making nursing real through near peer learning, and b) surmounting personal and contextual challenges in a first medical-surgical experience. Students “owned” their HPA skills, felt excited and prepared entering their medical-surgical placement. During the experience, however, students worried about not measuring up and the unreceptive learning environment.

Conclusion: The NPLA provided a safe context for novice students to apply HPA and become familiar with the hospital setting, facilitating their transition into a challenging first medical-surgical practicum.