Educating nursing students for sustainable future rural health care services: An umbrella review

Abstract

Background: Rural nursing education stands as a way to contribute to a sustainable nurse workforce in rural areas. Different approaches to organizing rural nursing education are described in the existing literature. Objective: To explore scientific reviews about rural nursing education and synthesize current knowledge as “best practice” recommendations for rural nursing education regarding the required organization of rural nursing education programs, what are the competencies required to function as a nurse in rural health-care settings, and the key environmental features for learning in rural nursing education programs. Design: An umbrella review. Participants: Nursing students, newly graduated nurses, and clinical supervisors involved in nursing education in rural areas. Data sources: A systematic literature search was conducted. Of the 276 review articles found, 93 were screened by title and abstract and 27 were screened in full text. The period searched was 2000–2022, and the literature search was peer-reviewed and published. Review methods: The Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology for umbrella reviews guided the design, search, and the reporting of the findings of the included reviews. Four reviewers screened for inclusion and exclusion using Covidence in a double blinded process. The analysis was guided by the JBI guidelines for umbrella review syntheses. Two reviewers conducted the analysis. Results: Sixteen reviews were included; eight scoping reviews, six integrative reviews, one narrative review, and one rapid review. The synthesis of current evidence provides the following “best practice” suggestions: (a) fostering context-sensitive and collaboratively designed education environments is recommended; (b) integrating curricula tailored for the nursing role and rural practice is recommended (c) establishing a supportive learning environment that encourages students' motivation and academic success; and (d) clinical placements in locally developed learning settings address the educational needs required for practice in the rural workforce. Conclusions: Rural nursing education needs to be properly aligned with the context and health-care development, to educate nurses who can meet the community's needs today and in the future. A well-functioning collaboration between university faculty and local community stakeholders in a co-creation process stands out as vital to build a sustainable, flexible, rural nursing education program. Tweetable abstract: Umbrella review: Flexible, co-created education might be “best practice” in rural undergraduate nursing programs.