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AIM The study compared students' perceptions of their clinical learning experiences in a dedicated education unit (DEU) with their experiences in traditional clinical education. BACKGROUND Unlike traditional academic-instructor models, expert nurses in the DEU provide clinical education to students with faculty support. METHOD This repeated measures design used student surveys, supplemented by focus group data. RESULTS Students were more likely to agree that their clinical learning experience was high quality and they had a consistent mentoring relationship during DEU rotations. Students also reported the quality of the unit's learning environment, the leadership style of the nurse manager, and the nursing care on the unit was more favorable in DEUs than traditional units. Consistent with their changed role in DEUs, faculty members were less active in helping students integrate theory and practice. CONCLUSION These findings provide additional evidence of the value that the DEU model contributes to high-quality clinical education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]