Clinical placements: is the shortage putting nursing at risk?

Plans to grow the profession by increasing student numbers will be scuppered if the shortage of good quality clinical placements is not addressed

• Nursing students must complete 2,300 clinical hours but a shortage of placements is making this increasingly difficult to achieve
• Two students describe their placement experiences as ‘an extra pair of hands’, missing out on learning opportunities due to understaffing
• A rethink of requirements should emphasise quality over quantity, making use of simulated learning and placements in unconventional settings, some suggest

Clinical placements are a vital part of nurse training, with students spending half their degree course on the front line learning what the job entails.

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