Background: It is important for faculty to prepare nurse practitioner students for their first clinical experiences to ensure student success.
Purpose: The purpose of this project was to implement a preclinical immersion and determine student perceptions about this experience.
Methods: A half-day preclinical immersion was instituted at the beginning of the family nurse practitioner students' first clinical course. Demographic information and survey data were obtained before the preclinical immersion experience, after completion of the immersion experience, and during the last 2 weeks of the first clinical course.
Results: Students' ratings of their clinical skills and knowledge improved during the duration of the semester for 5 of the 7 items. Directed content analysis revealed 3 themes: understanding of clinical expectations, face-to-face interactions with faculty, and cognitive/emotional clinical perceptions.
Conclusion: The use of preclinical immersion experiences may both practically and emotionally prepare students for graduate nursing clinical experiences.
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