Finessing incivility: The professional socialisation experiences of student nurses' first clinical placement, a grounded theory.

Background: Clinical practice is where student nurses are socialised into a professional role and acquire the distinct behaviour, attitudes and values of the nursing profession. Getting it right at the outset can maximise the development of a professional identity and the transmission of robust value systems.

Objectives: To explore the impact of the first clinical placement on the professional socialisation of adult undergraduate student nurses in the United Kingdom.

Design: Data of a longitudinal qualitative nature were collected and analysed using grounded theory.

Settings: First year student nurses in hospital ward placements comprising a rural District General Hospital and a large inner city Hospital kept daily unstructured diaries for six weeks.

Participants: A total of 26 undergraduate adult student nurses were purposefully sampled between 2008 and 2010 before undertaking their initial clinical placement.

Methods: Data collection and analysis used grounded theory and the key question asked of the diarists 'tell me what it is like to be a first year nurse on a first placement' was theoretically adjusted during constant comparison and as the theory emerged. Ethical approval and consent was obtained.

Results: The theory of finessing incivility comprises a conceptual framework depicting how student nurses deal with professional incivility during their initial clinical placement and sustain a student identity. Being disillusioned with their role as worker rather than learner yields a sense of 'status dislocation'. Despite needing professional benevolence, they remain altruistic and seek recompense from significant others to negotiate for learning opportunities and relocate their student status.

Conclusions: Despite the stressful transition into clinical practice rather than 'fit in', the student nurses want to belong as learners. His or her own resilience to learn nursing and be a professional student maintains their resolve, their altruism and strengthens their existing values to be benevolent towards an indifferent profession. This behaviour ultimately mirrors the social nature of the practice community.