Description Learning theories are necessary to help inform teaching strategies and promote successful educational outcomes. Having an in-depth knowledge about learning theories and their applicability to teaching and educating healthcare professionals will help support and promote excellence in medical education. Demonstrating an understanding of effective learning theories in the classroom will benefit both educators and trainees, while supporting a collaborative mentor-mentee relationship.

OBJECTIVE: To explore first-year student nurses\' lived experience of learning in clinical placement in nursing homes.
BACKGROUND: Nursing homes traditionally represent students\' first clinical placement sites during nurse education, and nursing home residents\' care needs can provide opportunities for student nurses to acquire both fundamental and specialised nursing skills. In clinical placements, students have opportunities to apply and integrate theoretical knowledge, practical skills and ethical competence in a clinical setting.
METHODS: A qualitative design with a hermeneutic phenomenological approach was employed and reported in accordance with the COREQ guidelines.
METHODS: The study was undertaken at three nursing homes affiliated with one Norwegian university. Close observation (173 h) and in-depth individual interviews (n = 7) with first-year student nurses were conducted to explore their lived experience of learning. Data analysis was guided by van Manen\'s hermeneutic phenomenological approach.
RESULTS: The essential meaning of the phenomenon of learning in clinical placements in a nursing home setting is characterised by four themes: (1) navigating a new and complex learning context, (2) being emotionally affected when facing sickness and frailty, (3) having a vital need for support and guidance and (4) being engaged in learning.
CONCLUSIONS: The findings are discussed against the backdrop of educational learning theory. Learning in clinical placements in nursing homes is a multi-faceted and complex phenomenon related to the students\' lived experience on the contextual, relational and individual levels. Overall, our findings demonstrate that learning in clinical placements is part of the process of professional identity development.
CONCLUSIONS: The clinical practice arena should emphasise emotional support for student nurses, enhance their self-directed reflection and explicitly focus on the essence of nursing in nursing homes.

Considerable progress has been made regarding the range of simulator technologies and simulation formats. Similarly, results from research in human learning and behavior have facilitated the development of best practices in simulation-based training (SBT) and surgical education. Today, SBT is a common curriculum component in surgical education that can significantly complement clinical learning, performance, and patient care experiences. Beginning with important considerations for selecting appropriate forms of simulation, several relevant educational theories of learning are described.