Abstract:

Clinical Teaching represents about 50% of the total number of hours of the Degree in Nursing. This teaching-learning methodology becomes, not only because of the time, but also because of the planned learning outcomes, an important space for the development of knowledge and skills through the confrontation between academic knowledge and its integration into the professionals' clinical practice situations. It is also relevant for the possibility of integrating theory into practice and contributing to the learning process of evidence-based practice. During the last clinical teaching of the degree course, students have had the opportunity to integrate the Safe Transition project, which involves a higher education institution, a hospital and a grouping of health centres, and has as its main purpose the Transfer of Knowledge to solve problems of the different services, in order to increase knowledge and empower patients and families in the process of transition from hospital to the community. The methodology is based on a simultaneous process of problem solving and knowledge transfer to the clinic. This qualitative study aimed to understand the participants' perception of the skills developed in the project during the last clinical teaching of the undergraduate degree in nursing. The sample of final-year students was composed of 12 students who met the inclusion criteria: having successfully completed the previous clinical teaching sessions (first and second semester of the third year and first semester of the fourth year) and consenting to participate in the study. The nurses' group was composed of 14 general care nurses with 3 to 5 years of professional experience who, as students, had been involved in the project during their last internship. A script with three open-ended questions was prepared as a stimulus for students to answer. Content analysis was the technique used to describe and interpret the participants' written discourse. The protocol followed included information preparation; transformation of the content into units; categorization; description and interpretation. The results indicate that both students and nurses perceive the development of cross-cutting competencies in different clinical practice contexts that can underpin professional development, such as ethical and legal skills, instrumental skills in nursing, knowledge of health and social policies, the ability to work in a multiprofessional team, the ability to respond effectively in emergency situations or in rapidly changing situations, the recognition of how beliefs and values can influence care provision, and the development of scientific skills related to the use of evidence and communication of science. The study enables recommendations for practice and research.

Keywords:

Nursing, Knowledge Transfer, Professional Development, Skills, Students.