Background: The goal of interprofessional practice experiences in health professions programs is to develop interprofessional collaborative practice skills.
Purpose: The purpose of the study was to explore the meaning final-semester Bachelor of Science in Nursing students attributed to interprofessional practice experiences during clinical immersion.
Methods: The theoretical framework for this descriptive qualitative study was experiential learning theory. A sample of 12 participants was drawn from final-semester prelicensure Bachelor of Science in Nursing students at a college of nursing at a public research university. Data were collected through one-on-one semi-structured interviews and analyzed through inductive thematic analysis.
Results: The analysis yielded four themes: professional and interprofessional identity, working with team members, communication practices, and trusting relationships. Patterns across themes were clinical environment culture, nursing school preparation, nurse preceptor role, fear/concern/worry, and night shift.
Conclusion: Consistency in preceptors, welcoming clinical environments, and opportunities to practice communicating with team members contributed to interprofessional collaborative practice skill development and improved perceptions of readiness for practice. Academic and clinical educators may use findings to (a) identify immersion placements for interprofessional practice experiences, (b) design curricula reflective of interprofessional practice, (c) advance teaching strategies to promote interprofessional practice, and (d) create learning environments that aid in professional and interprofessional identity formation.
Keywords: Baccalaureate nursing; Clinical immersion; Interprofessional practice; Readiness for practice; Transition to practice.
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