Abstract
BACKGROUND: The Registered Undergraduate Students of Nursing or Midwifery (RUSON/M) employment model was introduced in hospitals in Victoria, Australia, to provide supernumerary assistance to support patient care under the supervision of registered nurses and midwives. However, there is limited understanding of the support needs of students to transition into employment within the health workforce. AIM: To explore the support and resource needs of RUSON/M to facilitate transition into the health workforce. DESIGN: Sequential multi-method, exploratory, descriptive study. METHODS: Surveys were conducted with RUSON/M, and semi-structured interviews were undertaken with employed students and registered nurses and midwives within a public health service in Victoria, Australia. Data analyses included descriptive statistics (surveys) and inductive thematic analysis (interviews). RESULTS: Forty Registered Undergraduate Students of Nursing (RUSON) and 10 Registered Undergraduate Students of Midwifery (RUSOM) participated in the survey (response rate 32.3%). RUSOM indicated stronger agreement with feeling supported than RUSON (median 2.0, IQR 1.0-2.0 and median 3.0, IQR 2.0-3.0, p = 0.0040, respectively). Similarly, RUSON participants expressed lower confidence (median 2.0, IQR 1.0-2.0) compared to RUSOM participants (median 1.0, IQR 1.0-1.0, p = 0.00859). Twelve RUSON/M and 22 registered nurses or midwives participated in an interview, in which it was identified that the undergraduate employment role is beneficial to the delivery of patient care. RUSON/M valued exposure to a wide range of clinical experiences to build their confidence in clinical skills and improve their work readiness upon graduation. Continuity in workplace allocation facilitated relationship-building, supported skill competency assessment, built trust in capabilities and enabled timely debriefing. CONCLUSION: RUSON/M models confer benefits to patients, the workforce and the health service. The findings highlight the need for an approach to their employment that fosters the development of professional relationships, incorporates clinical leadership and mentorship and provides timely support to enable employed undergraduate students to have a positive experience. IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PROFESSION AND/OR PATIENT CARE: Optimal undergraduate employment models provide benefits to patients, the workforce and the health service by relieving workload pressure. IMPACT: Mentorship enables undergraduate students to become effective members of the healthcare system workforce. To optimise benefits, models of undergraduate student deployment should enable the development of clinical leadership and professional relationships within teams. REPORTING METHOD: Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research (SRQR) guidelines and Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) guidelines. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: None.