Exploring placement pathways in nurse education.

As community-based care has developed in line with current policy towards integrated care, some hospital placement capacity for student health professionals has been lost as a result of service reorganisation. However, student nurses and allied health professionals need to gain a broad range of experience to prepare them for the complex and rapidly changing environments they will be entering as qualified professionals. Placement pathways constitute a means of offering the knowledge and skills to enter the profession in challenging times. This study explored, by means of a literature search and interviews with key stakeholders, the challenges and opportunities offered by placement pathways. The findings are presented and the work being done as a result, including an the introduction of an electronic placement pathway tool, are discussed.