Using action research to build mentor capacity to improve orientation and quality of nursing students' aged care placements: what to do when the phone rings.

Aims And Objectives: To describe whether an action research approach can be used to build capacity of residential aged care facility staff to support undergraduate nursing students' clinical placements in residential aged care facilities, using development of an orientation programme as an exemplar.

Background: Aged care facilities are unpopular sites for nursing students' clinical placements. A contributing factor is the limited capacity of staff to provide students with a positive placement experience.