Nursing students’ experiences of mentorship during their clinical placement — An integrative review

Background Clinical experience is an integral component of preregistration nursing education programs globally. There is a need to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the mentoring experience during clinical placement from the perspective of preregistration nursing students. Aim/objective The aim of this review is to explore preregistration nursing students' experiences of mentorship during clinical placement. Design Integrative review methodology. Data sources Relevant online databases (CINAHL, Medline, Scopus, and ProQuest) were searched using a combination of keywords, yielding seven studies from peer-reviewed journals between 2014 and 2025 that met the inclusion criteria. Review methods After duplicates were removed, 501 abstracts were reviewed. Twenty articles were identified for full-text review. Of these, seven articles addressed the experiences of mentorship during clinical placement from the viewpoint of preregistration nursing students and were included in the review. Results The review of data generated four themes: (i) Enhancing support for nursing students, (ii) Providing meaningful feedback, (iii) Barriers to effective mentoring, and (iv) Sense of belongingness. Findings indicated that for mentoring to be effective, mentors need to provide support, foster a sense of belongingness in the clinical environment, and provide constructive feedback to students. However, in the clinical setting, factors such as staffing levels, workload, time, level of interest, and nurses' own responsibilities create barriers to effective mentorship. Conclusion The primary aim of this review was to offer meaningful insights into the dynamics of the mentoring relationship in shaping the clinical learning experiences of preregistration nursing students. The findings highlight the critical role of mentors who are supportive, knowledgeable, and approachable in creating a positive learning environment where students feel valued and supported.