title: Diversity characteristics and the experiences of nursing students during clinical placements: A qualitative study of student, faculty and supervisors' views.
abstract: Little is known about which diversity characteristics if any, impact on nursing students' clinical placements or how these may affect the quality of their learning experiences. There is therefore a need to better understand these effects not only from the student's perspective but also from the perspective of the staff who supervise them, in order to ensure students obtain maximal benefit from their placements.
  
  
  
  To describe the clinical experiences of nursing students and the diversity characteristics that affect this learning experience.
  
  
  
  Data were collected from a series of open-ended questions embedded within a larger anonymous web-based survey, from August 2011 to March 2012. Participants included first, second and third year undergraduate Bachelor of Nursing students (N = 704) and faculty members involved in the clinical learning environment (N = 165) from seven Australian universities.
  
  
  
  Qualitative findings were clustered into three main themes: differences, difficulty and discrimination, each with three sub-themes.
  
  
  
  FINDINGS suggest a need to offer appropriate support for nursing students who feel different because of diversity characteristics. Whilst some of the participant perceptions are confronting they provide valuable insights for universities developing curricula and the clinical placement facilities where students obtain their experience.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Western Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Koch
authors.forename: Bronwyn
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Everett
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Phillips
authors.forename: Patricia M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Davidson
mesh_terms: D018864:Cultural Diversity; D005181:Faculty, Nursing; D006801:Humans; D036301:Qualitative Research; D013338:Students, Nursing
keywords: English as an second language; clinical placement; cultural diversity; diversity characteristics; linguistic diversity; nursing students; qualitative research