Abstract
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Due to an ageing workforce, there is a growing need for greater numbers of nurses to work in areas, such as mental health and alcohol and other drugs (AOD) rehabilitation. These practitioners need to approach their work as ���recovery-oriented practitioners���. Positive experiences and preceptorship during clinical placement in AOD rehabilitation settings might influence students��� later career choices and address some of the workforce shortage issues. The aim of the present concurrent, mixed-methods study was to explore students��� perceptions of their clinical placement experience in a community-based AOD rehabilitation setting, and to examine attitude, career intention, and satisfaction with the placement. Fifty-eight students completed pre���post-test surveys, with closed and open-ended questions, which included standardized measures. A small sample of survey respondents also agreed to participate in a semistructured interview. The quantitative results revealed two predictors for higher intention to pursue a career in AOD: (i) a high satisfaction with their clinical placement (����=��0.29, P��=��0.008); and (ii) a high baseline attitude to recovery-oriented practice (����=��0.28, P��=��0.013). The qualitative findings identified five factors influencing placement experience: (i) educational factors; (ii) students��� background factors; (iii) placement factors; (iv) client factors; and (v) staff factors. A model that synthesizes the quantitative and qualitative findings was also developed. In conclusion, clinical placement in a community-based AOD rehabilitation centre improved students��� intention to work in that setting.