Are child field student nurses psychologically prepared for their first-year clinical placements?

Higher education institutions (HEIs) have established a varied and extensive programme aligned with the guidelines of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) to enhance the knowledge and comprehension of nursing students, effectively readying them for clinical placements and future careers in the healthcare sector. The introduction of Project 2000 marked a change in the curriculum, placing greater importance on learning in clinical settings, by increasing the hours spent in placements to better prepare students to fulfil the requirements of the NHS (Fulbrook et al, 2000). The BSc Nursing programme distinguishes itself from other courses offered by HEIs, because it is associated with higher instances of adverse psychological impacts such as stress, attributed to the somewhat rigid curriculum, substantial academic workload encompassing theoretical and practical assessments, and the mandatory 2300 clinical placement hours necessary for registration with the nursing regulatory body (Hwang and Kim, 2022; NMC, 2023;2024). Despite the emotional and academic hurdles, there is a notable absence of essential content delivered to nursing students in HEIs to prepare them adequately psychologically for the clinical environment, despite the heightened risks of physical and psychological issues leading to burnout among student nurses (Hwang and Kim, 2022). The National Audit Office (2024), considering NHS England's Long Term Workforce Plan, highlighted increases in nurses, with a surge in training opportunities, allowing for 170 000 more registered nurses by 2036-2037. Although an increase in staff numbers is of course welcomed, their preparedness for practice remains unchanged.