Winnington RShannon KTurner RJarden RMcClunie-Trust PJones VMerrick EDonaldson AMacdiarmid R2024-05-292024-05-292023-03-20Winnington R, Shannon K, Turner R, Jarden R, McClunie-Trust P, Jones V, Merrick E, Donaldson A, Macdiarmid R. (2023). Learning experiences of first year graduate entry nursing students in New Zealand and Australia: a qualitative case study.. BMC Nurs. 22. 1. (pp. 74-).1472-6955https://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/69695BACKGROUND: Graduate entry nursing programmes provide students with an accelerated pathway to becoming a registered nurse. Motivations for study, together with commonly shared characteristics of students enrolling in such programmes is becoming well documented, however, their experiences of studying for a professional qualification in this manner is less understood. As a means of maintaining the relevance of these fast-tracked programmes in the future, an understanding of graduate entry nursing students' experiences of academic teaching and clinical placements is imperative. OBJECTIVE: To explore the academic and clinical experiences of students enrolled in the first year of graduate entry nursing programmes in New Zealand and Australia. METHODS: A qualitative case study approach was taken. Here we report the experiences of nine students enrolled in their first year of a two-year graduate entry nursing programme during 2020. Semi-structured interviews were used for data collection and analysed using Braun and Clarke's thematic analysis. FINDINGS: Three overarching themes were developed-affirmation, reflections on expectations and clinical experiences. CONCLUSION: This study highlights the experiences of first year graduate entry nursing students, with many experiencing affirmation that their altruistic career visions came to fruition. The findings indicate that these graduate-entry nursing students interviewed for this study tended to be flexible and adaptable in their approach to study as a means of meeting the challenges of the programme, all of which are key characteristics for a registered nurse; with personal growth and the development of the self, providing preparation for their second year of study.(c) The author/shttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Clinical placementsGENGraduate entry nursing programmesNursing education graduateNursing studentsPractical nursingQualitative case studyJournal article10.1186/s12912-023-01233-91472-6955CC BYjournal-article74-https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/369354837410.1186/s12912-023-01233-9