Research article summary (published 29 May 2007):

Belongingness: a prerequisite for nursing students' clinical learning.

Full Abstract

The concept of belongingness has intuitive appeal. Human beings are social creatures; the need to belong and be accepted is fundamental, and social exclusion can be devastating. This paper reports on the selected findings from the qualitative phase of mixed-methods study that explored nursing students' experience of belongingness while on clinical placements. The 18 interview participants in this study were from Australia and the United Kingdom. They provided a range of perspectives on belongingness and how it influenced their placement experience. Central to this discussion was their strong belief that belonging is a prerequisite for clinical learning. This theme dominated all of the interviews. Given that the primary purpose of clinical placements is for students to learn to nurse, there needs to be a clear understanding of the relationship between belongingness and learning. With reference to the published literature and excerpts from interview transcripts, this paper proposes that reconceptualising nursing students' clinical learning experiences through a 'lens of belongingness' provides a new perspective and reveals yet unexplored insights.

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Author information

Author/s: Levett-Jones, Tracy (T); Lathlean, Judith (J);

Affiliation: School of Nursing and Midwifery, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia. Tracy.Levett-jones@newcastle.edu.au

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: Nurse education in practice (Nurse Educ Pract), published in England. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2008-Mar; vol 8 (issue 2) : pp 103-11

Dates: Created 2008/02/22; Completed 2008/03/17;

PMID: 18291327, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)

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

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Clinical Competence Great Britain Group Processes Humans Interviews as Topic Learning New South Wales Nursing Education Research

Preceptorship - methods Psychology, Educational Qualitative Research Queensland Social Alienation - psychology Social Environment Social Identification Students, Nursing - psychology

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