Learning experiences of senior-level, prelicensure nursing students: An interpretive phenomenological analysis

Graduates of nursing programs are expected to demonstrate discipline-specific skills and knowledge upon graduation. However, educators from nursing programs across the country report numerous challenges making it difficult to meet this expectation. Regardless, nurse educators must maximize all learning experiences of students while they are enrolled in a nursing program. However, little is known of prelicensure nursing students' perceptions of their learning experiences in a nursing program. Gaining a greater understanding of these areas may provide valuable insight for the nursing profession and improve current educational practices.;The aim in this study was to understand the lived experiences of nursing students as they learn in a nursing program. Through the use of interpretive phenomenological analysis, an enhanced understanding of the learning experiences of senior-level, prelicensure nursing students was revealed. Additionally, insight and understanding about students' perceptions regarding inviting and disinviting characteristics and behaviors within learning environments, their perceptions of the qualities and the characteristics of excellence in nursing education, and their experiences in evaluating learning in nursing was illuminated. Data gathering occurred through face-to-face interview sessions with 12 senior-level, prelicensure nursing students from two private BSN programs in the southeastern United States. After interviews were completed and transcribed, analytic coding methods and van Manen's (1990) thematic analysis process were utilized to analyze the narratives.;The four themes and nine subthemes were: Learning and Preparing, Inviting Versus Disinviting, Roll With the Punches, and The Evaluative Process: "Clicking Through." Interviews yielded rich descriptions of participants' experiences of learning in a program and what they identified as inviting and disinviting to their learning. Findings identify areas of nursing education that provide positive learning experiences for students and other areas that need to be improved in the future. Recommendations for further study include exploring the learning process in a nursing program, preparation practices of educators and students, the evaluative process in nursing education, and implementation of invitational theory within the nursing discipline.