Belongingness: A prerequisite for nursing students’ clinical learning

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Summary

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.

Introduction

This paper reports on selected findings from the qualitative phase of a mixed-methods, cross-national study that explored nursing students’ experience of belongingness when on clinical placements. While the study participants described a broad range of related experiences, it was the influence of belongingness on their capacity and motivation to engage in clinical learning opportunities when on placements that emerged as a critical and recurring theme; it is this phenomenon that is the focus of this paper. Given that clinical placements are specifically designed to provide positive experiential learning opportunities, there needs to be a clear understanding of the relationship between belongingness and student learning. By integrating excerpts from the interview transcripts with published literature this paper provides valuable insights into nursing student’s experience of belongingness and its impact on their clinical education.

Section snippets

Background

There is widespread agreement that clinical learning is of central importance to nursing education. Although a theoretical and research-based education is vital for contemporary nursing, on its own it is not enough. Effective clinical placements are essential to becoming a competent professional nurse. Learning in the clinical environment provides the real world context for nursing students to develop the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values of a registered nurse. Students have experiences

Belongingness – definition

This study sought to explore and define belongingness through a detailed interpretation of nursing students’ clinical placement experiences. A broad definition was derived from analysis and interpretation of the study data:

Belongingness is a deeply personal and contextually mediated experience that evolves in response to the degree to which an individual feels (a) secure, accepted, included, valued and respected by a defined group, (b) connected with or integral to the group, and (c) that their

The literature on belongingness

In a literature review previously undertaken by Levett-Jones et al. (2007a) the psychosocial dimensions of belongingness and its implications for nursing students were discussed. That paper identified a broad range of social science and psychological literature that detailed the importance of belonging, as well as the deleterious emotional, psychological, physical and behavioural consequences of having this need thwarted. Empirical and anecdotal evidence suggests that people who are deprived of

Research questions

To address some of the knowledge deficits identified in the literature, the following research questions, as they relate to third-year nursing students’ clinical placement experiences, were posed:

  • 1.

    To what extent do nursing students from different universities experience belongingness?

  • 2.

    Which demographic variables influence nursing students’ experience of belongingness?

  • 3.

    What factors impact on nursing students’ experience of belongingness?

  • 4.

    What are the consequences of nursing students’ experience of

Methodology

In the disciplines of psychology and social science, belongingness has been researched primarily using quantitative designs. In this study, however, qualitative data were seen as an essential complement to quantitative data, because the factors that underpin belongingness are far from definitive and these factors may be hidden or distorted by the use of only a quantitative approach. Additionally, a mixed-method design incorporating quantitative and qualitative approaches allowed for the results

Findings

This study specifically set out to identify the factors that impact on students’ experience of belongingness and the consequences of that experience. The stories told by the 18 interview participants and the insights generated created a rich and colourful tapestry that brought greater understanding to the multiple dimensions of belongingness. Each of the participants recalled diverse clinical placement experiences that spanned the continuum from those that promoted a high degree of

Conclusion

Two decades ago Melia (1987) described the socialisation experiences of hospital-trained nurses in the UK. She identified “getting the work done”, “learning the rules” and “fitting in” as dominant strategies used by students to survive in practice. These strategies are not dissimilar to those adopted and described by the students in the current study. It is disturbing that two studies, separated by an extensive period of time and focusing on what are, in many ways, disparate systems of nursing

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