title: The impact of clinical placement location on nursing students' competence and preparedness for practice.
abstract: The challenges confronting nurses in today's health care environments have highlighted the necessity for graduating students to feel both competent and prepared for practice. The aim of the aspect of the study reported in this article was to determine the relationship between the location of clinical placements and competence and preparedness for practice from the perspective of the nursing students. A quasi-experimental design using a pre-test post-test survey was used. The population consisted of all final year Bachelor of Nursing students at Queensland University of Technology, who undertook their clinical placement in either a rural or metropolitan location. The response rate was 65% in the pretest (n = 137) and 57% in the posttest (n =121). The results of the study highlight the importance of both rural and metropolitan clinical environments in developing not only student competency but also students' satisfaction with their clinical experience. The results suggest that the selection of a rural placement is more likely to occur when students feel competent, confident and organised about their clinical experience. Strategies to increase students' perceptions of competence and confidence to undertake a rural placement are likely to increase students' selection to 'go rural'.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, Queensland University of Technology, Victoria Park Road, Kelvin Grove, Qld 4059, Australia. h.edwards@qut.edu.au
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Edwards
authors.forename: Sheree
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Courtney
authors.forename: Kathleen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Finlayson
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chapman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000592:standards*; D004508:Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D020380:Needs Assessment; D015402:Nursing Education Research; D011793:Queensland; D019035:Rural Health Services / Q000592:standards*; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012944:Social Support; D013338:Students, Nursing / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014146:Training Support / Q000458:organization & administration; D014195:Travel; D019037:Urban Health Services / Q000592:standards*