The intensive care unit as an untapped learning resource: a student perspective.

The nursing student's clinical experience serves to form a bridge between the theoretical knowledge of the classroom and its application to patient care. The intensive care unit (ICU) has not traditionally been considered an ideal placement for undergraduate nursing students (Ballard & Trowbridge, 2004). However, in the fall of 2008, with a rise in enrolment, the school was faced with finding more clinical sites to accommodate our placement needs.