Frontiers in Medicine· 2026Q1
Undergraduate nursing students' clinical adaptation: a qualitative journey mapping study from student and clinical preceptor perspectives
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- 2026year
Short summary
Journey mapping reveals that undergraduate nursing students' clinical adaptation is a dynamic process of gaining, losing, and regaining participation in patient care, influenced by preceptor adjustments, patient responses, and ward conditions.
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Key points
- Clinical adaptation for nursing students involves dynamic shifts in participation, influenced by preceptors, patients, and ward environments.
- Students define adaptation by their ability to participate in patient care and be accepted by staff and patients.
- Preceptors modify supervision based on student performance, task risk, and patient safety considerations.
- Interruptions to participation, such as procedural setbacks or ward rotations, can disrupt adaptation progress.
- Journey mapping visually integrated student and preceptor perspectives on the adaptation process.
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Abstract
Background Clinical adaptation is shaped by students' readiness, precepting arrangements, patient responses, and ward conditions. Previous studies have usually examined student and preceptor experiences separately. This study aimed to explore undergraduate nursing students' adaptation to clinical practice from student and clinical preceptor perspectives and to identify key touchpoints, differences in focus, and support needs through journey mapping. Methods A descriptive qualitative study was conducted. Sixteen undergraduate nursing students and 11 clinical preceptors from a tertiary teaching hospital in Anhui Province, China, were purposively recruited. Individual face-to-face semi-structured interviews were analysed using Braun and Clarke's thematic analysis. Student and preceptor data were analysed separately and then compared at the thematic level. Journey mapping was then used to organise the findings across the clinical adaptation process and to present students' experiences and clinical preceptors' observations within the same journey map. Results Three themes and seven subthemes were identified: Positioning and Participation, Interaction and Adjustment, and Readjustment and Identity. Students judged their adaptation mainly by whether they could take part in patient care and whether their involvement was accepted by preceptors and patients. Preceptors adjusted participation and supervision according to observed performance, task risk, patient preferences, and safety requirements. Feedback, procedural setbacks, and ward rotations could interrupt participation, and previously established progress and support did not always carry over. Conclusions Clinical adaptation was described as involving repeated adjustments as opportunities to participate were gained, interrupted, and re-established. Clinical education should support continuity of participation, provide specific feedback and opportunities to re-engage after setbacks, and improve the transfer of learning information across ward rotations while maintaining patient safety.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Frontiers in Medicine, 2026 · DOI ↗
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Research and TheoryNursing