Experiences of undergraduate nursing students in a mental health clinical learning environment at a university in the Cape Town metropole

Abstract

Learning in clinical practice is an essential component of nursing education, considering that nursing is a practice-based profession. Over the years, nursing education has evolved from clinical apprenticeships in hospitals to an academic programme at Universities. The integration of theory and clinical practice is of utmost importance in an undergraduate programme that enables nurses to graduate with a degree with competence. The quality of nursing education is dependent on the clinical experience which undergraduate nursing students receive while placed in clinical learning environments, and this can impact their learning significantly.