Challenges faced by culturally and linguistically diverse nursing students at clinical placements

Abstract

Clinical placement is a crucial part of nursing training as it helps nursing students develop vital real-work nursing and professional skills, as well as networks that are helpful in securing jobs after graduating. Countries worldwide are experiencing a rise in culturally and linguistically diverse nursing students due to a rise in immigration and the number of international students studying in foreign colleges and universities. Culturally and linguistically diverse nursing students experience some challenges when undergoing clinical placement in areas where they are minorities. This study aimed to evaluate the challenges culturally and linguistically diverse nursing students face during their clinical placements in healthcare institutions. The literature review methodology was selected to investigate the study phenomenon. Six relevant peer-reviewed research articles were retrieved from the Pubmed, CINHAL and EBCOhost databases and analysed to understand the challenges. The challenges CALD nursing students reported experiencing during clinical placements were clustered into four main themes. The four main themes are communication barriers, cultural differences, social integration and clinical learning environment. Addressing the reported challenges through improved language support, cultural competency training, structured orientation programs and better mentorship could enhance CALD nursing students` experiences and learning outcomes during clinical placements.