Demanding yet supportive and developing: Nurse preceptors’ experiences of peer learning in nursing education in municipal elderly care homes

Abstract

Nursing students commonly engage in clinical education in municipal elderly healthcare. Therefore, it is important to use a pedagogical model that provides the best conditions for nursing students to develop clinical competence. The aim of this study was to describe and interpret nurse preceptors’ experiences of a newly implemented pedagogical model, peer learning, in municipal elderly care home settings. Nine registered nurses from elderly care homes with precepting experience participated. Data were collected through individual interviews, and a thematic content analysis was performed. The study followed the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ) checklist. The findings revealed four sub-themes: ‘requiring careful preparation’; ‘contributing control and trust in the learning process’; ‘changing perspectives brings new opportunities and challenges’; and ‘enabling students to believe in themselves’, all interpreted into the main theme of ‘demanding yet supportive and developing’. In conclusion, municipal elderly care homes seemed to be a learning environment well suited for using the peer learning pedagogical model.