Document Type

Article

Source of Publication

Nursing Reports

Publication Date

6-5-2025

Abstract

Background: Nursing students’ readiness for clinical practicums is critical to nursing education. Concerns about students’ preparedness for clinical courses have emerged due to increased student-to-educator ratios and limited hands-on practice time. Moreover, feedback from clinical instructors reveals that many student nurses lack the necessary knowledge and skills for patient care, thereby raising questions about their readiness for clinical practicum. Purpose: This study investigates undergraduate nursing students’ readiness for clinical practicum in the UAE by examining their perspectives, the variation in clinical study plans across different contexts, and the evidence gathered from clinical evaluations. Methodology: A case study design was adopted, utilizing semi-structured interviews with 13 nursing students from a UAE nursing college. Additionally, two types of document analysis were conducted. First, 11 nursing curricula from high-ranking universities were analyzed to compare whether students received adequate laboratory courses for their clinical practicum. Second, 217 clinical evaluation reports from third- and fourth-year nursing students across 4 campuses of the UAE nursing college were reviewed. Findings: The study identified two key themes from the interviews: incomplete readiness for clinical practicum and the factors contributing to this incomplete readiness. Document analysis revealed that, unlike many American and Australian institutions, most universities lacked co-requisite laboratory courses. Clinical evaluation reports highlighted that some students, particularly in their fourth year, were inadequately prepared for clinical practice due to deficiencies in both clinical skills and theoretical knowledge. Conclusions: The findings indicate that many nursing students felt only partially prepared for their practicum, negatively impacting their confidence and competency. Moreover, adopting the American and Australian approach of pairing practicum courses with laboratory courses may better prepare students for clinical practicum. Recommendations for future research have been outlined.

ISSN

2039-439X

Publisher

MDPI AG

Volume

15

Issue

6

Disciplines

Medicine and Health Sciences

Keywords

nursing education, nursing students, readiness for clinical practicum

Scopus ID

105009310379

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Indexed in Scopus

yes

Open Access

yes

Open Access Type

Gold: This publication is openly available in an open access journal/series

Download

Share

COinS