Sunday, November 1, 2009: 4:15 PM
Learning Objective 1: Identify transformative learning that evolved as a result of a collaborative partnership between a Level I trauma center and student nurse externs.
Learning Objective 2: Recognize that transformative learning occured by affirming assumptions learned in nursing school, validating values and banishing some extern core beliefs.
Summer nurse extern programs, developed through collaborative partnerships between nursing administrators, nurse recruiters, staff educators, nursing student educators, nursing staff and nursing students are flourishing across the United States. Many students participate in extern programs as a way to augment their clinical experience in school thereby easing the gap between school and the real world of nursing practice. The purpose of this descriptive qualitative research study is to examine the reflective feedback from seventy-nine nurse externs in order to gain an understanding about the nature of transformative learning during a summer collaborative externship program. Examining outcomes of externship programs will assist nursing educators, practitioners, and administrators to understand the full dimension of these programs. Nurse externs, from baccalaureate, associate, and diploma nursing programs participated in an eight-week extern program at a large, inner city trauma hospital in the northeastern United States. Data collection was ongoing throughout the externship using individual discussions with each extern and faculty member using a combination of focus group discussions at the midpoint of the externship and using reflective surveys immediately following the externship experience. Findings indicated that personal reflection shed light on how student externs transformed their perceptions, values and beliefs as a result of the extern program. Three themes emerged from the analysis of the findings: (1) affirming assumptions; (2) validating values; and (3) banishing some core beliefs. The results suggest implications for nursing education, practice, and research.
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