Nursing Students' Qualitative Experiences in the Medical-Surgical Clinical Learning Environment: A Cross-Cultural Integrative Review

Background: The nature of the clinical learning environment has a huge impact on student learning. For instance, research has supported the idea that a positive learning environment increases student learning. Therefore, the ability to gain information from the student perspective about the learning environment is essential to nursing education. Method: This article reviews qualitative research on nursing students' experiences of the clinical learning environment. The significance of the issue, the purpose of the integrative review, the methods used in the literature search, and the results of the review are presented. Results: Seventeen studies from 12 countries are identified for review, and six common themes are discussed. An exhaustive literature review revealed that among the 17 articles evaluated, six themes were common. Conclusion: The findings indicate the need to continue quality improvement to advance clinical education.