Transition to practice: Student nurses’ experience of venepuncture and peripheral intravenous cannulation learning

Objective: This study explores final-year nursing students’ experiences with venepuncture and peripheral intravenous cannulation, focusing on both educational and clinical practice settings. Methods: This study is qualitative descriptive design. Data were collected from three focus group sessions using a semi-structured interview approach. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, and data analysis was guided by Braun and Clarke's six-step model for thematic analysis. Results: Eight final-year nursing students participated, with each student attending one focus group session. Data analysis resulted in four main themes (1) Practice, practice, practice, (2) Not the way it's done here, (3) Luck of the draw, and (4) Experiential learning. The results highlight what hindered and helped students learn these skills in both the educational and clinical environment. Conclusion: Improvements are recommended which can be made to the teaching of nursing students on these skills. The findings of this study can inform educational programmes which incorporate these types of skills.