title: The elective experience: student choice in nurse education.
abstract: This article highlights the importance of choice in nurse education. It is suggested that for too long nurse education has ignored specialties such as forensic or child and adolescent mental health, and points to the elective placement as an invaluable, rich and rewarding learning experience. Through a process of negotiation involving the learner, the tutor and clinical staff, student nurses are empowered to take responsibility for their education and make choices for themselves. The elective placement is a time to consolidate knowledge, develop practice and reflect personal agendas within the nursing curriculum. Since nursing requires practitioners to be able to make decisions, solve problems and act autonomously, choice in education is crucial. This is in keeping with what nursing strives for, i.e. empowering others to take responsibility and make choices for themselves.
authors.affiliation: Adolescent Forensic Services, Mental Health Services, Salford NHS Trust.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: McDougall
mesh_terms: D002755:Choice Behavior; D003479:Curriculum; D004508:Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D013041:Specialties, Nursing / Q000193:education; D013338:Students, Nursing / Q000523:psychology*