An International Scoping Exercise Examining Practice Experience Hours Completed by Nursing Students.

Background: There is global acceptance of the need for prelicensure nursing students to complete practice experience hours during their program of education. Yet questions remain about these practice experiences, including those related to duration. Method: This article reports findings of a scoping exercise that compared the number of practice experience hours mandated for students undertaking courses that lead to RN licensure in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Results: Substantial differences were evident between the four countries regarding the number of mandated practice experience hours. There is no clearly linked research evidence to justify the decision made in relation to the mandated number of hours. Conclusion: Internationally, there is a need to reexamine the rationale for mandating a minimum number of practice experience hours for students in programs of education that lead to licensing as an RN.