Designing implementing and evaluating the settlement of the senior undergraduate nursing students at the Educational and Treatment Center of Zanjan University of Medical Sciences

Background and Objective: Nursing students' experiences in the field of internship require intelligent attention and management. The plan was designed and implemented in order to settle the senior undergraduate nursing students at the Educational and Treatment Center. Materials and Methods: In order to implement this single-group interventional study, undergraduate nursing students were attending full-time work in medical and surgical wards of Educational and Treatment Center under the supervision of a teaching assistant (TA) and a senior instructor in their last year of the course. The program started from the first semester of the 2016-2017 academic year and continued until the second semester of the 2017-2018. The planning and implementation team of the program at the faculty and its corresponding team at the educational and treatment center was responsible for planning, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating the program. Students' satisfaction with the program and their feedback was reviewed by the planning and implementation team. In this study, the first level of a Kirkpatrick model was used to evaluate the program. Results: Most of the participating students acknowledged that the program had a positive impact on professional preparation, accountability, self-esteem, and job independence in comparison to the conventional program. They also had criticisms of the program, that the most important of them was mentioned in the article. Also, the head nurses and TAs believed that the program, in addition to reaching the educational goals, was able to moderate the care burden of the nursing staff of the departments. Conclusion: Appraisal of the program illustrates the success of the program in achieving educational goals. It seems that the implementation of similar programs at this stage of the student's curriculum will not only facilitate the transition of the student's professional role but if implemented effectively, it can also help to mitigate the shortage of nursing. It is recommended to study the possibility of implementing such programs in the final year of the midwifery and other paramedical courses.