Student nurse placements take a new direction

This article explores the experiences of the first ever student nurses in the United Kingdom to participate in an innovative two-week clinical placement with the charity 'Across'. This charity takes seriously ill and disabled persons, referred to as VIPs, to Lourdes and back. The ethos of this partnership was the belief that senior students would benefit from refreshing or further developing their holistic caring skills. Six third year students were selected and were asked to keep a reflective diary and attend a focus group to discuss their experiences. The focus group was audiotaped, transcribed and analysed. Four key themes emerged: Perceptions of caring, interpersonal skills, spirituality and trust. These are essential aspects of holistic care. Delivering nursing care in this setting boosted the students' confidence, developed their interpersonal skills, particularly listening, and personalized nursing care so that the student-VIP relationships were much more than simple interactions. In conclusion, the opportunities to enhance the student's holistic caring skills exceeded expectations. Pre-registration programmes should consider such placements to further develop such skills.