Nursing students' perceptions of the clinical learning environment in nursing homes.

Clinical placements are important in the learning processes of nursing students. In Norway, clinical placement in nursing homes is obligatory for nursing students, and this is a demanding and complex setting for learning. This study aimed to assess how first-year nursing students perceived their learning environment in nursing homes and to explore which factors in the clinical learning environment had the greatest influence on students' overall satisfaction with their clinical placement. Students rated their perceptions of the psychosocial learning environment using the Clinical Learning Environment Inventory. Students perceived the learning environment as moderately positive. Mean scores were the highest on the Personalization subscale and the lowest on the Innovation subscale. Students who highly valued Innovation, Involvement, and Personalization had higher scores on the Satisfaction sub-scale. The results of this study indicate that major work is needed to develop the learning context for students in nursing homes. Copyright 2010, SLACK Incorporated.