• Julia Petty.
• School of Health and Social Work, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, Hertfordshire AL10 9AB, United Kingdom. Electronic address: j.petty@herts.ac.uk.
• Nurse Educ Today. 2017 Jan 1; 48: 25-32.

BackgroundStorytelling is an increasingly well recognised and valued platform to learn about the human experience within healthcare. Little is known however about how stories can enhance understanding in neonatal care, a specialised field offering rich opportunities for learning. This study focuses on the creation of stories based on the experiences of student nurses to inform teaching and learning strategies in the neonatal field.ObjectivesThe study aimed to create stories from the narratives of student nurses working within the neonatal field and identify what key themes for learning emerged in order to develop a storytelling resource to share experiences with their peers.DesignAn interpretive, constructivist approach was used to collect, analyse and create stories from student nurse's experiences, in line with narrative inquiry.ParticipantsSix pre-registration children's nursing students were selected by purposive sampling.SettingsInterviews were undertaken within six weeks following placement completion in an agreed location.MethodsNarratives were obtained by semi-structured interviews. Narrative analysis and core story creation was undertaken to construct stories and key learning themes emerged which provided the pedagogical basis for subsequent digital resource development.FindingsKey themes emerged relating to the insight and observances of student nurses and the neonatal journey they had experienced, including the nature of neonatal care, experiences of the neonate and parents, the environment and their own learning transition. Preliminary peer evaluation of the storytelling resource revealed storytelling as an interesting and novel approach to teaching & learning, learning from ones' peers, preparation for practice and a valuable insight into a new specialist area.ConclusionsThe study has value to teaching and learning by enabling an appreciation of how narrative can be used to portray the experiences of learners. Findings also support an approach to analysing narrative to create stories for learning and inform subsequent digital resource development.Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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