Nursing students learning transfer from classroom to clinical practice: An integrative review

The aim of this integrative review was to examine the theoretical, qualitative, quantitative and mixed-methods literature focused on how nursing students transfer learning from theory courses into clinical practice. As nursing curriculum aligns with the growing body of nursing knowledge, nursing students continue to develop their knowledge base and skill sets to prepare for future nursing practice. The bulk of this preparation involves developing connections between classroom/lab knowledge and further demonstrating those connections in clinical practice. However, the extant state of evidence on undergraduate nursing students’ learning transfer has not yet been synthesized. This integrative review was conducted using the Whittemore and Knafl framework. Eight databases were searched in June 2022: MEDLINE, APA PsycInfo, EMBASE, Web of Science, CINAHL, ERIC, Academic Search Complete and Education Research Complete. Literature was included if it focused on undergraduate nursing students who have participated in at least one clinical practicum and reported on learning transfer in clinical settings. Only English-language, peer-reviewed literature was included. Two researchers independently assessed the eligibility of articles at the title-and-abstract level and at the full-text level, followed by an assessment of methodological quality. The Joanna Briggs Institute’s critical appraisal checklists were used to assess theoretical papers and literature reviews and the mixed-methods appraisal tool (MMAT) was used to appraise all studies. Reference lists of included articles were searched for additional relevant literature. Reporting followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement guidelines. Twenty-eight articles met our inclusion criteria and were included in this review, including 20 qualitative studies, one quantitative study, three mixed-methods studies, three theoretical articles and one integrative review. The results of this review highlighted that numerous facilitators and barriers influence nursing students’ ability to transfer learning within clinical learning environments. Facilitators included having knowledgeable and supportive educators and nursing staff, using strategies to promote connections, fostering reflection and aligning theory and practice. Barriers included unclear connections between course content, incongruencies between classroom and practice, lack of nurse role models, lack of real-world applicability and unsupportive nurse educators. The information generated from this integrative review provides evidence about barriers that can be mitigated and facilitators that can be leveraged to facilitate undergraduate nursing students’ learning transfer into clinical practice. The findings also highlighted gaps in evidence surrounding the need to understand how nursing students transfer learning from classroom settings to clinical practice settings.