Final‐year undergraduate nursing students’ perceptions of general practice nursing: A qualitative study

ABSTRACT Aim To explore final‐year nursing students’ perceptions of general practice nursing. Background The need for general practice nurses has increased due to growing demands for health care in the community. This demand is exacerbated by a shortage in the general practice nursing workforce. Und...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of clinical nursing 2021-04, Vol.30 (7-8), p.1144-1153
Main Authors: Calma, Kaara Ray B., Halcomb, Elizabeth, Williams, Anna, McInnes, Susan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
attitude
career intention
Careers
education
Nurses
Nursing
Nursing education
nursing student
Patient-centered care
perception
Practice nursing
primary care
Qualitative research
Students
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:ABSTRACT Aim To explore final‐year nursing students’ perceptions of general practice nursing. Background The need for general practice nurses has increased due to growing demands for health care in the community. This demand is exacerbated by a shortage in the general practice nursing workforce. Understanding final‐year nursing students’ perceptions of general practice nursing is important as these may influence career choices. Design Qualitative descriptive study within a mixed methods project. Methods Telephone interviews were conducted with sixteen final‐year nursing students. Interviews were audio‐recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic analysis. Reporting follows the COREQ checklist. Results Perceptions of general practice nursing varied between participants and related to three main themes; ways of working; a broad role to meet diverse health needs; and relationships with patients. General practice nurses were seen to have stable and collaborative working relationships, with their role ranging from supporting general practitioners to being autonomous professionals. The nurse's broad role was associated with diverse presentations and was considered interesting and challenging. Participants perceived that general practice nurses had more time to spend with patients, and this helped establish trust, and facilitated patient‐centred care. Conclusion Participants’ perceptions of general practice nursing varied, with some students recognising the diversity of the role and others perceiving it as limited. These views were often impacted by others experiences rather than personal experience. These variations underscore the need for students to receive greater exposure to general practice nursing. Review of undergraduate curricula to increase focus on preparing nursing students to work in general practice may help shape students’ interest to seek employment in this setting. Relevance to clinical practice Students perceptions of a clinical setting can influence their career decisions. Understanding these perceptions can inform clinicians and managers and highlight areas that may need to be addressed to promote career opportunities.
ISSN:0962-1067
1365-2702
DOI:10.1111/jocn.15662