Staff Nurses’ Experiences in the Dedicated Education Unit (DEU)

Abstract

ABSTRACT

Schools of Nursing (SONs) struggle to provide optimal clinical experiences for all nursing students. Because of a shortage of clinical sites, thousands of qualified students are turned away from nursing programs every year. In an effort to deal with limited traditional clinical settings, some SONs have adopted the use of dedicated education units (DEUs) to teach clinical skills to nursing students. Although a relatively new clinical education concept, the DEU model uses staff nurses to educate undergraduate nursing students by coordinating their efforts with the nursing faculty and students in the healthcare facility. Although studies have identified some problems with the DEU model, there have been significant and promising outcomes with its use, especially with regard to the nursing students’ experiences. However, there is little known about the experiences of the nurses working on the DEUs. This phenomenological qualitative study explores the lived experiences of pediatric DEU staff. The information from this study will add to what is known about DEUs and promote decision-making based on evidence.