A partnership enterprise: scenario based learning for diverse nursing students working in a diverse community

The Nursing programme has students from a wide range of backgrounds with approximately half representing minority communities. A proportion of students are allocated placements in a borough where more than forty-five percent of the population is from black and ethnic minorities, and at least fifty-two percent of the staff supporting students also originate from an ethnically diverse background. Research has demonstrated that nursing students can find their practice placement a challenging experience, with anecdotal evidence indicating that students wait to discuss concerns with academic staff in their university rather than to independently address situations as they arise. This proposal outlines some of the findings of a project where students from community and acute nursing placements in a London Borough were immersed in culturally and ethnically diverse communities of practice. Student learning was co-facilitated by link lecturers and practice partners and offered a platform for open discussion and creative problem solving. Project findings emerged from facilitators‘ reflections on observation of student interactions, which revealed unique learning and development opportunities.