Registered Nurses’ Perceptions of Graduate Entry Nursing Students Undertaking Clinical Experience: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Aim To explore registered nurses' perceptions of graduate entry nursing students undertaking clinical experience.

Background Graduate entry nursing programmes offer an alternative and accelerated route to nursing registration for people who have an undergraduate degree. Graduate entry nursing programmes are well-established in the United States and the United Kingdom but have been more recently introduced to Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. As part of the completion of these programmes, graduate entry nursing students undertake clinical placements during which they are precepted by registered nurses. Due to the relative newness of graduate entry nursing programmes, how registered nurses perceive graduate entry nursing students undertaking clinical placement and how this impacts upon the preceptorship relationship is not yet well understood.

Methods A scoping review method was selected for this research. Nine databases were searched; Educational Resources Information Centre (ERIC), Joanna Briggs Institution, Cochrane, Google Scholar, Cumulative of Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Scopus, PubMed, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global and PyschInfo.

Results Using a narrative synthesis approach, four categories emerged from the eight selected articles; ‘negative perception of prior academic experience’, ‘scepticism and suspicion’, ‘evolving perceptions’ and ‘positive perception of prior experience’. This scoping review found that registered nurses' perceptions of graduate entry nursing students are varied, with academic backgrounds of graduate entry nursing students perceived both positively and negatively. Furthermore, this review also found that whilst some registered nurses may change their perceptions of individual graduate entry nursing students they have precepted, they remain sceptical of graduate entry nursing programmes in general.

Conclusions The results of this review outline the variation in how registered nurses perceive graduate entry nursing students and the potential impacts upon the student experience of preceptorship. This scoping review highlights the significant gaps in the qualitative literature.