Empowered learning on the inside: an externship experience.

Full Abstract

The purpose of this multiphasic qualitative research study was to obtain an in-depth understanding of how students experience a nonterminal summer externship program. Baccalaureate and associate degree nursing students participated in the six-week externship developed through a partnership between a regional hospital and a school of nursing in the southeastern United States. Data were collected before, during, immediately following, and six months after the externship experience using a combination of focus groups and interviews with student-preceptor dyads. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using constant comparative methodology. Findings from the study indicated that the core process characterizing the experience was "empowered learning on the inside." In contrast to traditional instructor-led experiences, students were positioned on the inside and acculturated to the world of nursing. As insiders, students related to others and experienced nursing in new ways. Implications of the findings for nursing education are addressed.

Author information

Author/s: Rush, Kathy L (KL); Peel, Karen (K); McCracken, Barbara (B);

Affiliation: Mary Black School of Nursing, University of South Carolina Upstate, Spartanburg, USA. krush(-atsign-)uscs.edu

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Evaluation Studies; Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Nursing education perspectives (Nurs Educ Perspect), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: -2004 Nov-Dec; vol 25 (issue 6) : pp 284-91

Dates: Created 2005/01/28; Completed 2005/02/22; Revised 2006/11/15;

PMID: 15675376, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 2/18/2009, IMS Date: )

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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