Innovative Approach to Senior Practicum Students

Background: Traditional senior practicum experiences (SPEs) are microsystem based—they allow senior nursing students the opportunity to build professional nursing competencies as they transition into practice. As health care transformation continues unabated, there is a need to work toward closing the gap between nursing academia and nursing practice. Method: A cardiovascular service line created an innovative SPE to better prepare senior nursing students for working as professional nurses in a service line model. Results: The Senior Practicum Immersion Experience (SPIE) proved to be beneficial to senior practicum students and offered firsthand experience of the role professional nurses play in a service line model. This model increased the number of senior practicum students accepted into the cardiac service line by 50%. Conclusion: The SPIE creates an innovative solution to increasing the number of senior practicum students while allowing students the ability to learn and practice in a service line model. [ J Nurs Educ. 2017;56(12):745–747.]