Changes in health service provision have created a shortage of practice placements for pre-registration nursing students on acute hospital wards. However, high quality practice learning opportunities are essential in pre-registration nursing education. An initiative to allocate nursing students to short placements with nurse specialist teams increased student learning opportunities and placement capacity. Student evaluations indicate that students allocated to nurse specialist placements receive effective mentoring and are supported in developing nursing skills and knowledge relevant to the varied and often complex needs of patients.