The Experiences of Self-Directed Learning in Nursing Practicum of Nursing Students

Abstract

Introduction Teaching and learning in nursing practicum, nursing students are expected to apply their self-directed learning skills to seek more information, enhance their nursing knowledge, and develop clinical skills to plan and provide nursing care to their patients properly. However, self-directed learning is a multifaceted concept that should not be approached from a single perspective, especially in clinical practice for nursing practicum. Understanding the self-directed learning process from a learner’s perspective can help improve the teaching plans tailored to the learners, which led to this research. 

Objective To explore experiences of self-directed learning in nursing practicum of nursing students. 

Design Descriptive qualitative study Methodology Informants were third-year nursing students at a school of nursing in Bangkok who had completed the Adult and Gerontological Nursing 2 practicum. The informants were purposively selected based on the inclusion criteria. Data were collected using two focused group interviews and individual in-depth interviews. Each focused group consisted of six informants. Nineteen informants volunteered for in-depth interviewing. Data were analyzed using content analysis. Creditability and confirmability were explained in the analysis process and findings of the study. Novel-like written reports with quotations were applied to narrate the informants’ self-directed learning experiences during the practicum.

Findings The experiences of self-directed learning in nursing practicum in this study were captured in three main categories: self-starting, struggling with limited time, and pay-off. Self-starting was explained with the subcategories of self-interest and being stimulated by specific situations. Struggling with limited time was driven by pre-clinical skill training, seeking convenient resources, attempted multitasking, and must succeed. Pay-off was described with two subcategories: feelings of pride and having new-found skills. Feelings of pride explained the experiences of self-accomplishment once gaining more knowledge, feeling confident, being ready to practice, and finally achieving better grades. New-found skills were described as the discovering of new skills gained after the self-directed learning process by learners including organizing and managing their daily tasks as well as realizing their responsibilities towards various life areas. 

Recommendations Findings from this study suggest a need for curriculum development and adjustment to the teaching plan for nursing practicums to maximize learning outcomes of the learners and the study course. The key success factors include providing students more time to go over the learning assignments, ensuring proper preparation of pre-clinical skills and reducing excessive clinical workloads. Future research on the development of a self-learning assessment tool specific to nursing practicums followed by testing its generalizability is recommended.