Background: Clinical practice is a pivotal part of nursing education. It provides students with the opportunity to\nput the knowledge and skills they have acquired from lectures into practice with real patients, under the guidance\nof registered nurses. Clinical experience is also essential for shaping the nursing studentsââ?¬â?¢ identity as future\nprofessional nurses. There is a lack of knowledge and understanding of the ways in which students learn practical\nskills and apply knowledge within and across different contexts, i.e. how they apply clinical skills, learnt in the\nlaboratory in university settings, in the clinical setting. The aim of this study was therefore to explore how nursing\nstudents describe, and use, their prior experiences related to practical skills during their clinical practice.\nMethods: An ethnographic case study design was used. Fieldwork included participant observations (82 h),\ninformal conversations, and interviews (n = 7) that were conducted during nursing studentsââ?¬â?¢ (n = 17) clinical\npractice at an emergency department at a university hospital in Sweden.\nResults: The overarching theme identified was ââ?¬Å?Learning about professional identities with respect to situated\npowerââ?¬Â. This encompasses tensions in studentsââ?¬â?¢ learning when they are socialized into practical skills in the nursing\nprofession. This overarching theme consists of three sub-themes: ââ?¬Å?Embodied knowledgeââ?¬Â, ââ?¬Å?Divergent ways of\nassessing and evaluating knowledgeââ?¬Â and ââ?¬Å?Balancing approachesââ?¬Â.\nConclusions: Nursing students do not automatically possess the ability to transfer knowledge from one setting to\nanother; rather, their development is shaped by their experiences and interactions with others when they meet real\npatients. The study revealed different ways in which students navigated tensions related to power differentials.\nReflecting on actions is a prerequisite for developing and learning practical skills and professional identities. This\nhighlights the importance of both educatorsââ?¬â?¢ and the preceptorsââ?¬â?¢ roles for socializing students in this process.
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