The experience of registered nurses who mentor undergraduate nursing students in the Australian rural context

Abstract

On rural clinical placements, undergraduate nursing students work alongside registered nurses sharing their patient allocation. The registered nurse facilitates the student’s clinical learning, providing opportunities for the student to translate theoretical knowledge into clinical practice. Despite the challenges of the rural context, registered nurses partner with universities to support and mentor students. This study explored the experience of registered nurses who mentored undergraduate nursing students on clinical placement in a rural context. It identified communication and information exchange with universities as a frustrating aspect of the mentoring experience, which being amenable to change, was addressed with an intervention.