| Summary: | In any nursing program, it is a challenge to foster an awareness of, and engagement with, the complexity and reality of nursing practice. During their studies, nursing students have to learn the relevant underpinning theoretical knowledge for practice as well as develop their understanding of the role and responsibilities of the registered nurse in clinical settings. At a regional Australian university the Bachelor of Nursing is offered externally with the student cohort predominantly off-campus. There are significant challenges in providing opportunities to enhance learning (Henderson, Twentyman, Heel, & Lloyd, 2006) and to foster early professional engagement with the nursing community of practice (Andrew, McGuiness, Reid, & Corcoran, 2009; Elliot, Efron, Wright, & Martinelli, 2003; Morales-Mann & Kaitell, 2001) in a context for learning nursing knowledge and inter-professional collaborative practice. This paper presents the results of a series of internal audits of students’ feedback of the Charles Darwin Hospital (CDU) vHospital™ undertaken from 2008 to 2010, following integration into theory and clinical nursing subjects in the Bachelor of Nursing program. The feedback from students demonstrates the value students place on teaching and learning activities that provide realistic situated learning opportunities (Hercelinskyj & McEwan, 2011).
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