Nursing students’ perceptions of the clinical learning environment at a university in South Africa

Abstract

The clinical learning environment has been found to be significantly related to nursing practice and ultimately patient outcome. However, despondency among nursing students towards the clinical learning environment has been widely reported. This study adopted a quantitative research method that included a descriptive survey design with the aim to examine nursing students’ perceptions of the clinical learning environment. The target study population (N = 498) was comprised of third- and fourth-year undergraduate nursing students at the selected university. The sample (n = 218) was selected through a simple random sampling technique. Data were collected using the 42-items Clinical Learning Environment Inventory Tool. Descriptive and inferential statistics (Chi-square and independent sample t-test) were used to analyse the data using the Statistical Package for Social Science version 25.