"Am I a student or a Healthcare Assistant?" A qualitative evaluation of a programme of prenursing care experience.

Prenursing care experience can positively prepare aspirant nurses for programmes of nurse education. The benefits identified were confirmation of aspiration (or otherwise) to pursue nursing, learning opportunities, and aspiration to improve patient experience. Risks for the programme included poor supervision, role ambiguity or confusion, demotivation through a deteriorating view of nursing, and poor treatment by others. The longer term impact on values and behaviours of this cohort requires further evaluation.