Nursing students' experience of the mental health setting as a clinical learning environment: Findings from a national study

The effects of clinical learning environment and career adaptability on resilience: A mediating analysis based on a survey of nursing interns

BACKGROUND

The resilience education of intern nursing students has significant implications for the development and improvement of the nursing workforce. The clinical internship period is a critical time for enhancing resilience.

AIMS

To evaluate the resilience level of Chinese nursing interns and explore the effects of factors affecting resilience early in their careers, focusing on the mediating roles of career adaptability between clinical learning environment and resilience.

METHODS

The cross-sectional study design was adopted. From March 2022 to May 2023, 512 nursing interns in tertiary care hospitals were surveyed online with the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, the Clinical Learning Environment Scale for Nurse and the Career Adapt-Abilities Scale. Structural equation modelling was used to clarify the relationships among these factors. Indirect effects were tested using bootstrapped confidence intervals.

RESULTS

The nursing interns showed a moderately high level of resilience [M (SD) = 70.15 (19.90)]. Gender, scholastic attainment, scholarship, career adaptability and clinical learning environment were influencing factors of nursing interns' resilience. Male interns with good academic performance showed higher levels of resilience. Career adaptability and clinical learning environment positively and directly affected their resilience level (β = 0.62, 0.18, respectively, p < .01). Career adaptability was also positively affected by the clinical learning environment (β = 0.36, p < .01), and mediated the effect of clinical learning environment on resilience (β = 0.22, p < .01).

CONCLUSION

Clinical learning environment can positively affect the resilience level of nursing interns. Career adaptability can affect resilience directly and also play a mediating role between clinical learning environment and resilience. Thus, promotion of career adaptability and clinical teaching environment should be the potential strategies for nursing interns to improve their resilience, especially for female nursing interns with low academic performance.

Undergraduate Nursing Student Mental Health Clinical Experiences in Saudi Arabia: Findings From a Qualitative Study

BACKGROUND

Clinical experience is an important way of resolving preregistration challenges. Negative feelings toward pursuing a career in mental health nursing may be modified by well-structured practicums.

AIMS

To explore nursing student perspectives of clinical practicums in mental health in Saudi Arabia for the purpose of enhancement of nurse education in mental health care.

METHODS

This qualitative study used thematic analysis from semistructured focus group interviews of 20 female undergraduate nursing students. Inductive outcomes and emergent conceptual data were reviewed by investigators, doctoral prepared faculty peers, and members of the sample. NVivo 10.1 software was used to suggest conceptual groupings into themes based on inductive codes.

RESULTS

The core theme-enhancement of mental health care skills-comprised four emerging subthemes, including the application of theory for clinical improvement, positive feelings, and motivation toward removal of discrimination and stigmatization, experience with apprehension, anxiety, fear, and stress, and therapeutic communication skills.

DISCUSSION

Clinical placement in mental health-related practice may assist undergraduate nursing students in addressing anxiety and stress related to contacting patients, confronting stigmatizing and negative emotions, applying theoretical knowledge to clinical practice, having therapeutic communication skills, and enhancing overall professional experiences of nursing students. It is hoped that undergraduate clinical mental health placement will contribute valuable skills and viewpoints to nursing students who aim to enter professional practice in all areas and especially mental health.

Psychological experience among internship nurses at different internship stages: A qualitative study

AIM

Some studies have found that clinical practice has caused great pressure and negative psychological experience to nursing students. Therefore, this study aimed to identify psychological experience at different internship stages among internship nurses.

DESIGN

A qualitative study.

METHODS

In this qualitative study, one-to-one in-depth interviews and mixed data analysis strategies were conducted among internship nurses from May 2018 to February 2019.

RESULTS

The pressure of the initial stage was operational pressure (80.0%), intermediate stage was nurse-patient communication (50.0%), and last stage was employment pressure (70.6%). Nursing students mainly expected to improve their operational and communication skills, and to acquire clinical experience, thinking ability and frontier knowledge. 62.5% students said ambivalent on "let us practice with being monitored," especially in the last stage (88.2%). Clinical nursing teaching should pay attention to this dynamic experience and their factors and take corresponding measures to improve the quality of internship.

The effect of instructors' clinical experience on professional socialization from the perspective of nursing students: A phenomenological qualitative study

Nursing students spend efforts to be familiar with their professional roles and professional values and to understand professional behaviors, functions, and values correctly in clinical practices. First and second-year nursing students are in the early stages of professional socialization in clinical practice. In the third year, students start to reach a level at which they are aware of the professional behaviors of instructors in clinical practice in terms of professional socialization. This study aimed to determine how the effect of instructors on the professional socialization of students in clinical practice was perceived by the students. The study used a qualitative design based on Heidegger's hermeneutic phenomenological approach. First, the content of the questions in the interview form and the aim of the study were explained to the students, and then the interviews were conducted with 10 students who agreed to participate in face-to-face in-depth interviews. The data were analyzed using van Manen's thematic analysis and three themes and seven sub-themes were determined. The themes of the study were as follows: (1) It may make professional socialization easier or difficult (subthemes: "It is important to be aware of my presence"; "Unfair practices related to marks and threat with marks"), (2) Instructors' communication with nurses affects us (subthemes: "Positive atmosphere of care", "Acceptance in the clinic"), (3) I am aware of our instructors with clinical experience (subthemes: "Like someone in the clinic", "Role model with care behaviors", "Like carrying water in your palms"). In light of the results of this study, it has been understood that the clinical experience of the instructors is important. In addition, the importance of clinical experience in the employment of instructors has emerged.