Hays Catherine, Devine Susan, Glass Beverley D
Centre for Rural and Remote Health, James Cook University, Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia.
College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia.
BMC Nurs. 2022 Aug 2;21(1):211. doi: 10.1186/s12912-022-00996-x.
Nurses constitute most of the rural and remote Australian health workforce, however staff shortages in these regions are common. Rural exposure, association, and undertaking rural clinical placements can influence health students' decision to work rurally after graduation, however attending university in rural and remote regions has been shown to be a great contributor. An improved understanding of these nursing students' experiences may inform changes to teaching and support strategies for these students, which in turn could improve their retention and completion rates, contributing to a more sustainable rural and remote Australian nursing workforce. This study aimed to explore and describe students' experiences of studying nursing in the context of a satellite university campus located in a remote town, with a focus on education delivery methods, staff, support, student services, and barriers and enablers to successful study.
Nine students participated in this qualitative descriptive study. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken, allowing participants to reflect on their experiences as nursing students in the context of a geographically remote satellite university campus. The resulting data were grouped into common themes and summarised.
Students were generally positive regarding lectures delivered by videoconference or recorded lectures, as they allowed for greater flexibility which accommodated their busy personal lives. Face-to-face teaching was especially valuable, and students were particularly positive about their small cohort size, which enabled the creation of strong, supportive relationships between students, their cohort, and teaching and support staff. However, barriers related to student demographics and some difficulties with course engagement and campus staffing were experienced.
The experiences of nursing students at remote university campuses are different from those experienced by traditional, metropolitan university students. Although these nursing students face additional barriers unique to the remote campus context, they benefit from a range of enabling factors, including their close relationships with other students, staff, family, and their local community.
护士构成了澳大利亚农村和偏远地区卫生人力的大部分，但这些地区的人员短缺情况很常见。农村实习、联系以及参与农村临床实习会影响医学生毕业后在农村工作的决定，不过在农村和偏远地区上大学已被证明是一个重要因素。更好地了解这些护理专业学生的经历可能会为针对这些学生的教学和支持策略的改变提供参考，这反过来可能会提高他们的留校率和毕业率，有助于建立一支更具可持续性的澳大利亚农村和偏远地区护理队伍。本研究旨在探索和描述学生在位于偏远城镇的卫星大学校园环境中学习护理的经历，重点关注教育授课方式、教职员工、支持、学生服务以及成功学习的障碍和促进因素。
九名学生参与了这项定性描述性研究。进行了半结构化访谈，让参与者反思他们在地理位置偏远的卫星大学校园环境中作为护理专业学生的经历。所得数据被归纳为共同主题并进行了总结。
学生们对通过视频会议授课或录制的讲座总体上持积极态度，因为这些方式提供了更大的灵活性，适应了他们忙碌的个人生活。面对面教学尤其有价值，学生们对小班规模特别满意，这使得学生之间、他们与同学以及教学和支持人员之间能够建立牢固的支持关系。然而，也遇到了与学生人口统计学相关的障碍以及课程参与和校园人员配备方面的一些困难。
偏远大学校园护理专业学生的经历与传统大都市大学学生的经历不同。尽管这些护理专业学生面临偏远校园环境特有的额外障碍，但他们受益于一系列促进因素，包括与其他学生、教职员工、家人以及当地社区的密切关系。
