Ward learning climate and student nurse response.

This research is an exploratory study concerned with student nurse learning on the ward and the related role of the ward sister. Initially three general questions were formulated:- 1) What are the general attitudes and beliefs about the 'ideal' situation of the four nurse groups in the study (student nurses, ward sisters, clinical teachers and nurse tutors)? 2) What happens on particular wards and can a ward be said to have a learning climate which differentiates it from other wards? 3) How is student nurse satisfaction related to attitudes and to ward learning climate? The attitudes and perceptions of the four groups wereinvestigated by means of a questionnaire using a Likert-type response scale. The satisfactions of student nurses were also explored using the same method.As a result of the investigation evidence was presented that ward learning climate exists as a measurable reality for student nurses. Not only did respondents display a high level of consensus regarding important elements of ward learning climate but also they discriminated between two extreme types of ward, labelled high student orientation and low student orientation. It was suggested that patient well-being and student nurse well-being were both enhanced in the high student orientation type of ward.Analysis of data indicated that ward learning climate is a determinant of student nurse satisfaction. General satisfaction with nursing was found to be associated with ward learning climate though this relationship was less close than that between satisfaction provided by a particular ward and ward learning climate.Finally, the nurse groups were compared and contrasted on the basis of their agreement and differences in response to the attitude measures.