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Abstract

Clinical Learning Environment (CLE) is a vital aspect of nursing education that offers students real-world exposure to interdisciplinary teamwork, patient care, and hospital protocols, preparing them for professional practice. This cross-sectional study is purely quantitative that evaluates the CLE among nursing students at tertiary care hospitals and examines the gender differences in perception. Through convenience sampling, a sample of 202 nursing students was selected for data collection. The study used CLES+T scale to evaluate nursing students’ perception. The tool has 5 parameters and is based on 34 items (reliability 0.78 to 0.96). Findings from the Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test reveal that there is a significant impact of CLE on nursing students at tertiary care hospitals, asymptotic significance 0.013 (p < .05). Further Mann-Whitney U test reveals that distribution of CLES+T is consistent across genders, as both male and female nursing students perceived similar opinions, which reject the research hypothesis. This suggests that, in tertiary care hospitals, factors such as clinical mentorship, hospital policies, clinical supervision, and the general environment might play a more influential role than gender in shaping nursing students' perceptions toward CLE. Future research could further explore how various elements of the CLE, such as the availability of resources, training, leadership style of management, and support systems, contribute to the overall learning experience for nursing students. Furthermore, future studies can be conducted in public and private tertiary care hospitals to compare CLE for nursing students and how they contribute to creating an inclusive and supportive learning atmosphere for all students, irrespective of gender.