Summer Camp Clinical Placements in Young Families Nursing: An Interpretive Description Study

Purpose: Obtaining meaningful clinical experiences with paediatric and perinatal (young families) populations is increasingly challenging for nursing programs. Care for this population has largely moved to outpatient and tertiary settings. Therefore, a current trend is to use non-traditional clinical settings. While summer camps offer rich learning experiences for nursing students, they are seldom used as clinical placements. Faculty at an Atlantic Canadian university sought a novel way to engage students in young families' learning by partnering with overnight summer camps, staffed by counsellors, camp administrators, and on-site nurses. Campers included those with lived experience of cancer, diabetes, physical and developmental challenges, and socioeconomic challenges. This study assesses how young families course outcomes were met by an innovative clinical experience within a Bachelor of Nursing program and describes the perceptions and experiences of those involved.

Methods: Study participants included students (n = 4), camp directors (n = 3), a camp nurse (n = 1), and the clinical educator (n = 1). Data collection involved semi-structured interviews and a focus group. Interpretive description methodology was used to identify themes and patterns related to overarching research questions.

Findings: Students met the outcomes and overall participant perceptions and experiences were positive. However, some participants shared constructive critiques for future consideration.

Conclusions: Nursing students who completed a young families clinical placement at summer camps met course outcomes, and those involved reported both positive experiences and constructive critiques for future consideration.