Abstract

Aims: This study aimed to explore nursing and midwifery students’ evaluation of the clinical learning environment and mentoring and to identify distinct student profiles relating to their perceptions.

Design: This study employed a cross‐sectional design.

Settings: The study population included nursing and midwifery students in a university hospital in Finland.

Participants: All nursing and midwifery students who completed their clinical placement were invited to take part in the study in the academic year 2017–2018.

Methods: The data (N = 2,609) were gathered through an online survey using the Clinical Learning Environment, Supervision and Nurse Teacher scale. The data were analysed using a K‐mean cluster algorithm to identify nursing and midwifery students’ profiles.

Results: The findings from this study indicate four distinct profiles (A, B, C, & D) of nursing and midwifery students in relation to the clinical learning environment and mentoring. Profile A (N = 1,352) students evaluated their clinical learning environment and mentoring to the highest level (mean varied from 9.44–8.38); and Profile D (N = 151)‐ to the lowest (mean varied from 5.93–4.00).

Conclusions: The findings highlight that nursing and midwifery students evaluate their clinical learning environment and mentoring more highly when: they have a named mentor, student and mentor discuss learning goals, there is a final assessment in clinical learning, the mentor’s guidance skills support student learning, the clinical learning supports the student’s professional development and pre‐clinical teaching in an educational institution supports learning in the clinical placement.

Conclusions: Clinical learning plays an important role in nurse and midwifery education. Mentoring of clinical practice was shown to have a great influence on students’ perceptions of their success in clinical learning. We suggest that clinical practice should be strengthened by the building of collaboration between nursing teachers and registered nurses.