Abstract

Washington State faces an increasing demand for qualified nurses, yet nursing programs are unable to graduate enough students to meet workforce needs, largely due to a shortage of clinical placement opportunities. Clinical experience is indispensable in preparing nurses for practice, yet continuing to place more students into chronically understaffed hospitals is unfeasible and unsustainable. The literature highlights that non-traditional clinical placements can provide valuable learning experiences that develop essential nursing competencies while exposing students to diverse populations and healthcare settings. This capstone project examined current placement practices in Washington and explored strategies to expand clinical experiences, with a focus on utilizing non-traditional clinical sites. A review of existing literature and placement models was enhanced by stakeholder consultations across educational and healthcare institutions, along with a survey of licensed healthcare facilities, to uncover barriers, identify opportunities, and develop actionable strategies to address the clinical placement shortage. Descriptive quantitative data analysis and qualitative data theming revealed several significant barriers to increasing clinical placements: staffing shortages, inconsistent onboarding processes, inadequate preceptor support, and lack of standardized placement procedures. Based on these findings, a policy brief was created with the following recommendations: establish standardized policies for onboarding and placement procedures, develop a centralized system to map non-traditional clinical sites, and increase funding to support preceptor and healthcare site participation through training programs, financial incentives, and infrastructure enhancements. These strategies aim to improve the availability and quality of non-traditional clinical placements for nursing students, ensuring an increased supply of competent nurses.