Currently, in Ireland, there is a high rate of attrition among newly qualified student nurses. This paper specifically seeks to provide insights into this issue through an exploration of the experiences and perceptions of clinical placement from a sample of student nurses and preceptors in Ireland through the conceptual lenses of both incidental learning and liminality. We conclude that the power of incidental learning on students transversing a liminal space should not be underestimated and that in our study the surrounding context of support (particularly from preceptors) was critical. Incidental learning around aspects of organization culture and hierarchy that caused dissonance for students emerged as a consistent outcome. So too did time and resource pressure on preceptors due to staffing shortages which, in turn, impacted negatively on workplace learning opportunities beyond routine incidental learning and support available to students to constructively make sense of their experiences. We argue that results from this study can inform not just nurse education but may also give pause for thought to those responsible for professions which have substantial work placement aspects as part of their qualifying route such as apprenticeships. © 2024 The Author(s). International Journal of Training and Development published by Brian Towers (BRITOW) and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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