Assisting nurses to facilitate student and new graduate learning in practice settings: what 'support' do nurses at the bedside need?

The behaviours of nurses in the community of practice that new graduates and students participate directly contribute to learning. These behaviours are becoming more important with increasing numbers of students and graduates learning in health care contexts. Nurses, whether they assume the role of preceptor, buddy or mentor are pivotal in identifying appropriate learning opportunities for students and graduates, and assimilating these learners into the team. As nurses at the bedside have a designated caseload they need to be supported to perform this important role while delivering health care. The literature reports a number of constraints for nurses when facilitating the learning of others, namely, inadequate preparation about how to foster learning in this context, poor planning at the ward level, lack of reward or recognition for the role, lack of understanding about the specific learning needs of students and new graduates. This discussion paper provides direction for leadership and management teams to effectively support nurses who assume the role of preceptor, buddy or mentor to assist others' learning in the workplace. The recommendations suggest management teams provide for adequate preparation of nurses, effective planning of workload and organisation of work in the clinical area, and mechanisms for timely and specific feedback to maintain nurses interest and motivation in performing the role. Furthermore, senior leadership personnel need to establish a culture where the value of teaching and learning in practice is recognised and fostered by the entire team.