Clinical Placement Coordinators Research Articles

Midwifery students’ experiences of their clinical internship placement during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ireland: A qualitative descriptive study

ObjectiveTo explore the impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic on midwifery students’ experiences of clinical internship placement in the final year of their midwifery programme. DesignA qualitative descriptive study was conducted following ethical approval. Four online focus groups were facilitated. Setting and participantsTo prepare for autonomous practice, BSc Midwifery students in the Republic of Ireland (RoI) undertake a 36-week internship in the final year of their programme. Midwifery students (n = 15), from one Higher Education Institute (HEI), who were undertaking internship across two clinical practice sites volunteered to participate in the study. FindingsFour overarching themes were identified: Fear and uncertainty of internship in the context of a pandemic, Consequences of COVID-19 within the clinical environment, Student supports, Opportunities and challenges during internship. Working within a health care environment dominated by the presence of COVID-19 had significant consequences for the students and their provision of care for women and families. Students were challenged with managing increased responsibility within the context of COVID-19 practice requirements and restrictions. Students balanced their need to progress to autonomous practice, whilst acknowledging their needs as learners. COVID-19 also brought unexpected benefits, which included enhancing students’ ability to develop relationships with women in their care, and students described a sense of belonging within the midwifery team. Key conclusions and implications for practiceMidwifery students identified internship, during the COVID-19 pandemic as challenging and stressful. However, students also portrayed a sense of pride in their achievements. Support structures assisted students to cope during this period which included peer support, protective reflective time (PRT) in the HEI and support from clinical placement coordinators in midwifery (CPC-Midwifery) within clinical placements sites. It is essential that these support structures continue within midwifery educational programmes. Promoting peer support in a more formal support structure may need consideration. These support structures need to be protected and enhanced during unprecedented times, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Exploring the Use of an Electronic Competency Assessment Document Using iPad Minis to Assess Clinical Practice Competency in a Preregistration Nursing Program: A Cross-sectional Feasibility Study.

The aim of this study was to explore the feasibility of using iPad minis as a method of completing competency assessment in clinical practice. Digital technology helps to revolutionize all aspects of our lives. The use of digital technologies in clinical practice can facilitate a move toward a more flexible learning environment and enable students to adapt in a rapidly changing, interconnected world. The introduction of electronic clinical booklets in practice placements could facilitate the sharing of clinical information through connected healthcare systems, thus improving the student experience. A cross-sectional design was used in this study. A sample of BSc nursing students (n = 53) and clinically based healthcare professionals (n = 27) (preceptors and clinical placement coordinators) participated in this study. Data were collected using a modified version of Garrett and colleagues' instrument, the System Usability Scale, a demographics questionnaire, and three open-ended questions. There was a significant difference between the students and preceptors/clinical placement coordinators across all items with higher proportions of students (ranging from 66% to 75.5%), indicating that they agreed or strongly agreed with the reliability, ease of use, and effectiveness of the device in assessing their clinical competency (ranging from 11.1% to 40.7%). In addition, the iPad minis were found to be smaller, lighter, and easier to carry than paper-based booklets and encouraged students to access timely online learning resources during placement to help augment their learning. The use of iPad mini to complete the electronic competency assessment document as a replacement for a paper-based system to assess clinical practice is feasible. The introduction of electronic assessment documents should incorporate a robust training plan and standard operating procedures.

Unveiling how Clinical Nursing Education can be Improved in Northern Ghana: The Perspectives of Key Informants.

IntroductionClinical nursing education is an important component of the professional development of nursing students. Key informants such as nursing lecturers, nurse managers and clinical placement coordinators play an essential role in clinical education.PurposeThe purpose of the study was to explore the perspectives of key informants on how the current state of clinical nursing education in Northern Ghana can be improved.MethodsThe study used an exploratory qualitative design. Sixteen participants were purposively selected and data were collected through face-to-face individual interviews. Data were analysed using framework analysis.FindingsThe study findings indicate that clinical nursing education can be improved by decreasing the overcrowding of students in the clinical setting, decreasing the theory-practice gap and providing relevant material resources in the clinical facilities. Also, nursing education institutions can improve clinical nursing education by equipping the skills laboratories, engaging an adequate number of lecturers, and carrying out clinical accompaniment.ConclusionThere is a need to improve clinical education through collaboration between nursing education institutions and clinical facilities. Effective collaboration will ensure the planning of clinical placement to avoid overcrowding, provision of continuous professional development programmes for preceptors and improvement in clinical supervision. Also, the provision of material resources in skills laboratories and clinical facilities to enhance clinical teaching should be given priority.

Data-driven Exploration of Engagement with Workplace-based Assessment in the Clinical Skills Domain

The paper presents a multi-faceted data-driven computational approach to analyse workplace-based assessment (WBA) of clinical skills in medical education. Unlike formal university-based part of the degree, the setting of WBA can be informal and only loosely regulated, as students are encouraged to take every opportunity to learn from the clinical setting. For clinical educators and placement coordinators it is vital to follow and analyse students’ engagement with WBA while on placements, in order to understand how students are participating in the assessment, and what improvements can be made. We analyse digital data capturing the students’ WBA attempts and comments on how the assessments went, using process mining and text analytics. We compare Year 1 cohorts across three years, focusing on differences between primary vs. secondary care placements. The main contribution of the work presented in this paper is the exploration of computational approaches for multi-faceted, data-driven assessment analytics for workplace learning which includes:(i) a set of features for analysing clinical skills WBA data, (ii) analysis of the temporal aspects ofthat data using process mining, and (iii) utilising text analytics to compare student reflections on WBA. We show how assessment data captured during clinical placements can provide insights about the student engagement and inform the medical education practice. Our work is inspired by Jim Greer’s vision that intelligent methods and techniques should be adopted to address key challenges faced by educational practitioners in order to foster improvement of learning and teaching. In the broader AI in Education context, the paper shows the application of AI methods to address educational challenges in a new informal learning domain - practical healthcare placements in higher education medical training.

Barriers to Preceptor Placement for Nurse Practitioner Students.

Advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) are positioned to fill healthcare gaps in the looming primary care provider shortage, if clinical educational needs can be met. Issues with preceptor placements for APRNs have been hotly debated in nursing education but not well studied. This article presents a case study of a quality improvement project, describing the experiences of a Clinical Preceptor Placement Coordinator for APRN students for a small Midwestern university. Barriers identified in finding preceptor placements for students are delineated, and suggestions for solutions and further research are given to address this growing problem.

The Scope of Inclusion of Academic Conflict of Interest Policies

We analyzed whether institutions training physicians and advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) have conflict of interest policies (COIP) specific to pharmaceutical relationships and if present do such policies extend to students, other clinicians, personnel, sites, and curriculum. The 2014 Association of Academic Health Centers list of US members (n=92) identified 65 eligible universities. A 10-item web-based survey was distributed to potential participants. Initial contact was to institutional Directors of Nursing Research, with sequential contacts if no response to Nursing Deans or Department Chairs, Clinical Placement Coordinators, Institutional Research Board Directors, Bioethics Departments, and Legal Counsel. Contacts received 2 email reminders before initiating the next level of contact. Reminder postcards were sent to Dean or Department Chair non-responders. 20 institutions fully completed the survey, a 30% response. Most (90%) reported COIP for continuing education or industry funded speaking but 40.5% were "unsure" or "unclear" whether this included curriculum. 55.6% were "unsure" or "did not know" if preceptors were included. Website confirmation noted COIP most frequently covered research funding or trials (95%) or gifts and meals (90%). Policies least frequently covered curriculum (10%). 25% included all clinicians in their COIP. No institution covered clinical preceptors unless they were employees. Gaps exist in knowledge of COIP and their scope related to the education of nurse prescribers. While most policies cover research funding or trials in accordance with federal law, they are not explicit or known regarding their extension to nonphysician clinicians, curriculum, or preceptors.

Potential and challenges for learning during acute medical/surgical placement for intellectual disability, mental health and midwifery students.

In Ireland nursing and midwifery degree programmes involve four pathways to registration. Three of which, intellectual disability and mental health nursing and midwifery require students to undertake acute medical/surgical placements offering learning opportunities caring for patients with complex needs in settings beyond their core discipline. This paper focuses on findings from a descriptive qualitative study exploring intellectual disability and mental health nursing and midwifery students experiences of such placements. Data analysis identified three themes: Getting ready, Navigating the way and Getting through. Feelings of stress and uncertainty are described by participants when moving from familiarity within a chosen discipline to an unfamiliar environment. Findings have influenced specific placement structures with local health service partners. While our study focuses on an Irish context, findings have relevance for student education in other jurisdictions. Enhancing preparation and support for students undertaking unfamiliar placements needs to be a constant endeavour. Such foundations will foster valuable experiences where students can feel part of a team, gain confidence, enhance skills and transfer meaningful learning to their core practice discipline. Further research is needed to explore the views of preceptors, ward managers and Clinical Placement Coordinators.

Gaining a 'proper sense' of what happens out there: An 'Academic Bush Camp' to promote rural placements for students.

Undergraduates who undertake rural placements often choose a rural career. Reluctance from universities to send students to rural settings limits placement numbers. The Western Australian Centre for Rural Health (WACRH) invited allied health and nursing academics and clinical placement coordinators from Western Australian (WA) universities to an Academic Bush Camp. Based on situated learning theory, this camp modelled student programs through experiential learning and structured workshops. It aimed to build relationships and showcase innovative rural learning opportunities. To build relationships and showcase innovative rural learning opportunities. An evaluation of a residential camp based on situated learning theory. The camp stated and finished in Geraldton, WA and was centered in Mt Magnet, WA a remote town 600 kilometres northeast of Perth. WACRH invited allied health and nursing academics and clinical placement coordinators from Western Australian (WA) universities. This camp modelled student programs through experiential learning and structured workshops. Online pre- and post-camp questionnaires included open-ended questions and questions on a 5-point Likert scale. Responses were analysed in SPSS 22 using descriptive statistics and Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Follow-up phone interviews six months later assessed longer-term reflections and changes in student placement practice. The main outcome measure was whether the camp met participants' expectations, and their knowledge about and interest in WACRH's programs. Twelve academics from five WA universities and seven health disciplines attended. Nine had previously lived or worked rurally. The camp met participants' expectations and all would recommend the opportunity to a colleague. Many valued the interaction with community and clinical placement partners and would have preferred more of this. The camp increased awareness of WACRH's programs and benefits of longer rural placements and a service-learning environment. Six months later, participants' familiarity with WACRH's placement model, supports and staff had led to an enhanced willingness to place students. Rural academics can influence rural placement intentions by demonstrating the infrastructure, learning and academic support available. A camp experience increases metropolitan academics' awareness of rural placement programs and willingness to encourage student participation. Participants with rural backgrounds appeared more receptive to rural learning possibilities.

Compression force behaviours: An exploration of the beliefs and values influencing the application of breast compression during screening mammography

This research project investigated the compression behaviours of practitioners during screening mammography. The study sought to provide a qualitative understanding of ‘how’ and ‘why’ practitioners apply compression force. With a clear conflict in the existing literature and little scientific evidence base to support the reasoning behind the application of compression force, this research project investigated the application of compression using a phenomenological approach.Following ethical approval, six focus group interviews were conducted at six different breast screening centres in England. A sample of 41 practitioners were interviewed within the focus groups together with six one-to-one interviews of mammography educators or clinical placement co-ordinators.The findings revealed two broad humanistic and technological categories consisting of 10 themes. The themes included client empowerment, white-lies, time for interactions, uncertainty of own practice, culture, power, compression controls, digital technology, dose audit-safety nets, numerical scales. All of these themes were derived from 28 units of significant meaning (USM).The results demonstrate a wide variation in the application of compression force, thus offering a possible explanation for the difference between practitioner compression forces found in quantitative studies. Compression force was applied in many different ways due to individual practitioner experiences and behaviour. Furthermore, the culture and the practice of the units themselves influenced beliefs and attitudes of practitioners in compression force application. The strongest recommendation to emerge from this study was the need for peer observation to enable practitioners to observe and compare their own compression force practice to that of their colleagues. The findings are significant for clinical practice in order to understand how and why compression force is applied.

The role of the nurse lecturer in clinical practice in the Republic of Ireland

Undergraduate nurse education in Ireland transferred into the third level sector in 2002. As a result nurse lecturers are expected to develop a model of clinical practice that enables them to be involved in practice and its development while maintaining their own nursing expertise and credibility [An Bord Altranais, 2005. Requirements and Standards for Nurse Registration Education Programmes, third ed. An Bord Altranais, Dublin]. In light of this the researchers set out to explore the perceptions of the nurse lecturers' role in clinical practice among nurse lecturers, preceptors, clinical nurse managers, clinical placement co-ordinators and students. A qualitative research design using focus groups was chosen. A purposive sampling strategy generated the sample for 5 in-depth focus group interviews with the aforementioned key stakeholders and the data was thematically analysed. Five themes emerged which centred on the maintenance of lecturers' clinical credibility, the lecturers' role as a resource to clinical staff, teaching and assessing students in practice, the value of fostering relationships in practice and role duplication. The findings from this study supports the anecdotal evidence that confusion exists around the role but more importantly it gives the nurse lecturer population guidance on how to develop the role in partnership with the various stakeholders in a way that supports the nursing students and clinical staff in practice in an effective manner.

Innovation in Community Clinical Placements: A Canadian Survey

Ongoing restructuring within the health care system juxtaposed with mandated increased seats in nursing programs have taxed traditional clinical practice settings beyond their capacity. In the search for suitable clinical placements to meet learning objectives and fulfill required clinical hours, nursing program administrators are turning to various non-traditional settings. Yet limited research exists to describe the prevalence and types of 'innovative' clinical placements (ICPs) or the nature and quality of student learning in such settings. Described in this article are findings from a national survey of Canadian baccalaureate nursing programs completed by nurse educators and clinical placement coordinators regarding nursing student placements within ICPs. Participant survey responses provide a national snap-shot of ICPs, along with perspectives on pedagogy, strengths and weaknesses, capacity and sustainability issues, and ethical, legal and academic considerations associated with student placements in these settings.

Commentary on McNamara MS (2007) Illuminating the essential elements of the role of the clinical placement co‐ordinator: a phenomenological inquiry. Journal of Clinical Nursing 16, 1516–1524

McNamara (2007) has presented a detailed description of his phenomenological study exploring the role of the Clinical Placement Co-ordinators in Ireland. The description of his design and methodology is excellent and is well supported; there is no doubt he has sound knowledge of the phenomenological approach and this will be of considerable benefit to those reading this paper. However, it seems he has skimped on the presentation of findings as a result. This makes it difficult to determine whether his findings are verifiable, particularly in relation to the rather complex model he has proposed. While small sample sizes are a key feature of studies of a qualitative nature, a sample of five, in this case, does limit the work in terms of producing models, etc. It may be that this work is a small part of a larger study; however this is not made clear. The data presented in terms of quotes are illuminating, to an extent, but the co-ordinators come across as being rather full of their own importance. One is left with the view that ‘well they would say that, wouldn't they'? when describing how vital they are to the clinical area. The fact the sample is of a volunteer nature contributes to this notion. How many were actually asked to participate? It may have been useful to know this. Were this sample biased? Despite the claim that the phenomenological approach allows for ‘setting aside preconceived notions’, there was no indication that this may have happened. Indeed, the respondents seem to be very much in tune with their notions – in their description of what happened to them as students. This may have had an impact on how they currently view their role. McNamara sees this as ‘objectivity for subjectivity’, however, there is no clear demonstration of this in the findings. It would be of interest to know how the clinical staff view these findings. Most of the data refer to the support provided to ‘the staff’– are these staff nurses or ward sisters or healthcare assistants? What role do mentors play? The data, in a general sense, seem to indicate very loosely what the clinical co-ordinators see themselves doing in a broad sense, but it is not clear exactly what they do. Is it just support for students in an emotional sense? Or is there involvement in assessment? If so, what does the role become in view of student assessment of failing students? Do the co-ordinators teach? Or tell others how to do it? This presents somewhat of a dilemma if part of the nurses’ role is to teach and it appears that they either do not do it, do not want to do it or do not know how to do it. This is suggested within the findings presented, and is of concern, whichever may be the reason. Personal knowledge of the CPC's role is that they were, in fact, clinical teachers with a teaching remit, but this study does not refer to this. To reiterate, this study provides an excellent example of the use of a phenomenological approach, and the level of detail is good. However, the findings do not provide the same depth, in terms of support for the proposed diagrammatic presentation or as a clear explanation for international readers as to what exactly the clinical co-ordinator's remit is. In the final analysis, the reader is left asking many more questions about the role than any certainty of what it actually is. Although raising further questions is important, any reader hoping to glean what exactly the co-ordinators do specifically, may be left wanting. This is possibly due to the word constraints of publication or to the closeness to the subject of McNamara. The relevance of this study could be improved through use of it as the starting point of a thorough examination of the role of the clinical placement co-ordinator and further work could be with ward staff, students and tutors. The views of a small number of co-ordinators, in isolation, present a narrow and potentially biased view and it is difficult to determine whether the aim of ‘clarifying the CPC role through explicating its essential elements’ has been achieved. However, this is a useful study in terms of methodological description and explanation, and this is of real benefit to readers.

Illuminating the essential elements of the role of the clinical placement co‐ordinator: a phenomenological inquiry

The research aims to illuminate the essential elements of the role of the clinical placement co-ordinator. Clinical placement co-ordinators were introduced to Irish health-care settings to support the clinical learning of nursing students after the ending of the apprenticeship model of nurse training and in the context of reforms culminating in the introduction of the BSc (Nursing) degree as the sole route of entry to practice in 2002. A phenomenological design was used in order to explicate the necessary and sufficient elements of the role from clinical placement co-ordinators' accounts of their experiences of and in the post. In-depth, unstructured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of five clinical placement co-ordinators. The interview process was guided by Crotty's framework for phenomenological data collection and analysed using Moustakas' modification of Van Kaam's method of data analysis. Analysis and interpretation of the rich, narrative descriptions elaborated for each of the five participants revealed three essential elements pervading each account: being a dedicated presence for nursing students; facilitating the establishment, maintenance and development of the clinical teaching partnership between staff nurses and students; and monitoring the clinical learning environment to ensure safe practice. Each element emerged as necessary and sufficient from the accounts of each respondent, thus capturing the essence of the clinical placement co-ordinator role. The exclusive focus on students' clinical learning needs is the essential element of clinical placement co-ordinators' role, requiring them to marshal human and other resources to optimize the clinical learning environment. Optimizing students' clinical learning is a joint endeavour but benefits from the availability in clinical settings of a dedicated support person for students and staff.

Implementing reflection: Insights from pre-registration mental health students

Reflection and reflective practice continues to be contentious issues in nursing. The focus of this article is the use of reflection by pre-registration mental health students. The broad aim of this preliminary study was to discover student mental health nurses' perceptions of reflection as a learning strategy during clinical placement. Using a constructivist grounded theory methodology [Charmaz, K., 2000. Grounded theory: Objectivist and Constructivist Methods. In: Denzin, N., Lincoln, Y. (Eds.), Handbook of Qualitative Research, second ed. Sage, Thousand Oaks, California], five students were interviewed individually in their clinical placements. Data analysis revealed three major categories: understanding the process of reflection, using reflection in clinical practice, and needing support and guidance. Findings indicated that students were primarily using reflection-on-action, but to varying extents. Overall, students felt that reflection facilitated their learning. Factors were discovered that both helped and hindered students' use of reflection. These included level of preparation to reflect, a limited culture of reflection and the level of support from preceptors, clinical staff, clinical placement co-ordinators, and lecturers. In conclusion, it appears that a collaborative approach between students, Health Service Providers and institutes of nursing is vital for the successful development and implementation of reflective learning strategies in clinical placement. Suggestions are made as to how a collaborative approach may be developed to enhance this process.

Reflecting during clinical placement – Discovering factors that influence pre-registration psychiatric nursing students

As the debate surrounding reflection continues there are recommendations that Irish pre-registration nurses should use reflection as a strategy to facilitate the development of competencies. In one School of Psychiatric Nursing, diploma student psychiatric nurses were already using reflection as an aid to develop their competencies in the course of their clinical placements. The aim of this study was to explore student psychiatric nurses' perceptions of reflection as a learning strategy during clinical placement. Using a constructivist qualitative methodology third year students were interviewed individually in their clinical placements. Data analysis revealed three major categories: understanding the process of reflection, using reflection in clinical practice, and needing support and guidance. The latter category, which is explored in this paper, indicated that a number of factors influenced how students engaged in reflection during clinical placement. Findings also indicated that the mentor, the clinical placement co-ordinator and the lecturer have key roles. It is suggested that as students need more adequate preparation and ongoing support to reflect that a collaborative approach between health service providers and the learning institution, regarding the development of reflective strategies, is vital if reflection is to be an effective learning tool in clinical placements.

Implementing objective structured clinical skills evaluation (OSCE) in nurse registration programmes in a centre in Ireland: A utilisation focused evaluation

This paper presents findings from a research study of two objective structured clinical skills evaluation (OSCE) processes that were used in the new BSc. in General and Psychiatric Nursing Registration programmes offered in an Institute of Technology in the south west of Ireland. OSCEs, which have gained widespread acceptance throughout the western world as valid academic measures of nursing competence has yet to be established in this country. This research aimed to evaluate the process and outcomes of OSCE from the perspective of the major stakeholder groups: first and second year nursing students, lecturers, clinical placement coordinators and assessors. A utilisation focussed evaluation approach was adopted which values the opinions and experiences of stakeholders. It is intended to use the findings to develop the validity and quality of the OSCE assessment. The OSCE process was found to have a positive impact on all stakeholders. OSCEs were perceived to be a meaningful and fair form of assessment. Students identified that they felt more prepared for and more confident about forthcoming placements. The OSCE process was, however, perceived to be a stressful experience and requires considerable preparation effort by students and academic staff. Mature students claimed that more practice effort was required but also felt more prepared for placements and achieved higher OSCE scores.

Knowing and doing phenomenology: The implications of the critique of ‘nursing phenomenology’ for a phenomenological inquiry: A discussion paper

Phenomenological research in nursing has come under sustained attack in recent years with some nurse researchers accused of betraying the fundamental tenets of phenomenology and of misconstruing its key concepts. This paper aims to show how a study informed by the critique of ‘nursing phenomenology’ was designed and conducted. In particular, the implications of the key phenomenological concepts of intentionality and bracketing for data collection, data analysis and the presentation of findings are explored in relation to an investigation of the concept of the Clinical Placement Coordinator (CPC), an innovative student support role in Irish nursing education. The paper shows how an understanding of the key phenomenological notions of bracketing and intentionality, and careful consideration of their implications for research design and conduct, can enrich nursing research by retaining the objectivity and critique central to the phenomenological method. The illumination and clarification of contested and complex concepts can be achieved by encouraging both researcher and co-researchers to get ‘back to the things themselves’ by taking a fresh unprejudiced look at the necessary and sufficient elements of phenomena of interest to nursing as they appear to those who experience them.

An evaluation of the role of the Clinical Placement Coordinator in student nurse support in the clinical area.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the role of the Clinical Placement Coordinator (CPC) and the continued development of the role in the context of the provision of student support in the clinical area. Following the introduction of the Registration/Diploma in Nursing Studies programme in the Republic of Ireland in 1994 the post of CPC was created to support student nurses in the clinical area. The CPC is an experienced nurse who provides dedicated support to student nurses in a variety of clinical settings however, unlike the role of mentor/preceptor they do not have a client/patient caseload. To date no major evaluation of the post has taken place. Therefore the Department of Health and Children commissioned a national evaluation of the post of which part of the findings are reported in this paper. A two-stage study is described utilizing a mixed-methods approach. Data collection included individual and focus group interviews and questionnaires. Interviews were analysed using thematic content analysis and data collected from questionnaires were analysed utilizing descriptive and inferential statistics. An analysis of the data identified the responsibilities and functions of CPC were multivariate, however, core elements of the role were evident. The core elements were identified as student support and practice development. The central and most frequent finding from the data collected was the individual support students received from CPCs throughout their clinical placement. The role of CPC was evaluated as a positive addition to the realm of student support and the clinical team. The positioning of the post in the clinical area also adds the dimension of a CPC being a link between student nurses and the various groups that provide student support, this is essential in light of the changing role of the nurse tutor following the full integration of preregistration nurse education into the third-level sector and the development of a formal preceptorship role for clinical nurses in the Republic of Ireland.

Model setting for students.

Clinical placement co-ordinator Kate Wadley, of Birmingham Specialist Community Health NHS Trust, eyes up one of the life-size models at the trust's new clinical skills centre. The £58,000 centre also has a range of 'true-to-life' acute and community settings to help train nursing students.

A plug for the clinical placement co-ordinators

With regard to the suggestion that there is a requirement fora new post to facilitate skills transition and research based practice in the UK (Perspectives July 21), I have good news!