Well-Being of Nursing Students: Role of Affect Regulation, Self-Esteem, Family Cohesion and Social Support

Nursing students' readiness towards the 'new normal' in clinical practice: a distributed cognition qualitative perspective

BACKGROUND

Clinical practicums are a core component of baccalaureate nursing education. Following the coronavirus pandemic, there have been extensive changes in the workforce environment that may potentially affect nursing students' experience and readiness for clinical practicums.

METHODS

A qualitative study was conducted to explore final-year nursing students' experiences and readiness for their final clinical practicum before becoming a registered nurse. A purposive sample of 24 final-year baccalaureate nursing students was included in this study. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted face-to-face via Zoom. The data was analysed using an inductive thematic analysis approach.

RESULTS

Three themes depicting students' experiences and clinical readiness were elucidated. The themes included: (1) Experiencing multiple concerns, (2) requiring a network of support, and (3) easing the transition to professional practice. Students considered the final clinical practicum as challenging and demanding which evoked numerous concerns.

CONCLUSIONS

Considering the stress that final-year nursing students experience, it will be important to devise strategies ranging from personal, relational, and environmental protective factors to enable their successful transition and completion of clinical practice.

Family functioning in students of health sciences in four Latin American countries: a study of the structure and factorial invariance of the FACES III scale. A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Psychometric studies of the FACES III scale in Spanish-speaking countries show a lack of agreement on the factorial structure of the scale. In addition, most of the studies have only performed exploratory analyses of its factorial structure.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of the present study was to confirm the structure and factorial invariance of the FACES III scale in nursing and obstetric students from Chile, Colombia, Peru, and Mexico.

METHODS

A total of 3303 students from the four countries participated in this study (Colombia = 1559, Chile = 1224, Peru = 215, Mexico = 305).

RESULTS

The results of the study showed that the Bi-factor model presents the best-fit indexes to the data from Colombia, Chile, and Mexico, but not from Peru. In addition, it was found that this model showed evidence of being strictly invariant among the three countries in the sequence of the invariance models proposed: metric invariance (ΔRMSEA = .000), scalar (ΔRMSEA = .008), and strict (ΔRMSEA = .008). The bi-factor model also showed adequate reliability indexes in the three countries.

CONCLUSION

It is concluded that the FACES III scale shows adequate psychometric performance under a bi-factor model in nursing and obstetric students from Colombia, Chile, and Mexico. The lack of fit of the model in Peru could be associated with the small sample size.

Exploring the relationship between first-year nursing student self-esteem and dropout: A cohort study

AIM

To describe nursing student self-esteem prior to the influence of nursing education and to explore the relationship between self-esteem and dropout.

DESIGN

Cohort study.

METHODS

At the beginning of their first year of study, in October 2017, 464 nursing students completed a questionnaire that assessed their self-esteem level via Tafarodi & Swann Scale and self-esteem profile following Mruk's model, along with sociodemographic information, state anxiety, self-efficacy, intention to continue and social support. One year later, data on grades and re-enrolment were collected. Multivariate analyses explored the factors influencing self-esteem level (multiple regression), self-esteem profile (multinomial logistic regression) and dropout (binary logistic regression).

RESULTS/FINDINGS

The mean level of self-esteem was 50.8 (9.0), scale of 16 to 80. Forty-nine per cent of self-esteem profiles were classified as 'high', 20.1% as 'defensive acceptance based', 11.2% as 'defensive achievement based' and 19.6% as 'low'. State anxiety (p < 0.0001), self-efficacy about completion of the nursing programme (p < 0.0001) and self-efficacy about internship (p < 0.0001) were associated with self-esteem. The dropout rate was 21.5%. Self-esteem level (p = 0.039) and academic performance (p < 0.0001) were associated with dropout.

CONCLUSION

While nursing student self-esteem is often described as low, we know little about its baseline before entering the nursing programme and the factors that influence it. The dropout rate among first-year nursing students is high, but self-esteem is rarely explored as a possible explanation. We found that students had medium, and potentially fragile, self-esteem when starting their nursing education, and that self-esteem was associated with dropout.

IMPACT

Given that association and the impact of self-esteem on well-being and professional behaviour, educational institutions should foster self-esteem both generally and in students with anxiety or low self-efficacy. Future research should explore nursing student self-esteem using a longitudinal mixed methods approach. Society should value nurses and nursing students.

Wellness among nursing students: A qualitative study

Nursing students typically experience high levels of stress and anxiety in nursing schools, and this is often compounded by having to combine complex classroom theories with practice. Healthy behaviors are subsequently neglected, diminishing academic efficiency and personal wellbeing. Student nurses need to adopt healthy lifestyles since wellness has been shown to promote positive health outcomes. Nonetheless, studies on the perception of wellness, and descriptions of its facilitators and barriers in wellness promotion among nursing students remain limited. This qualitative descriptive study aimed to explore facilitators and barriers to promote wellness among nursing students in Thailand. Data was gathered using focus groups with 80 undergraduate third and fourth-year nursing students, comprising 64 females and 16 males. Four themes emerged from content analysis regarding the facilitators of promoting wellness: healthy living; belief in animism; self-optimism; and receiving support. Barriers to wellness were three themes of stressors involved in students' lives: pressure from instructors; behaviors of staff nurses; and being perceived as untrustworthy. It is vital to promote wellness among nursing students to encourage their health care choices and to support them through their studies.

Relationship between depression, anxiety, cognitive distortions, and psychological well-being among nursing students

PURPOSE

The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between depression, anxiety, cognitive distortions, and psychological well-being among nursing students.

DESIGN AND METHODS

This descriptive, correlational, cross-sectional study was conducted with 330 nursing students. Data were collected using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), the Cognitive Distortion Scale (CDS), and the Psychological Well-being Scale (PWBS).

FINDINGS

The PWBS negatively correlated with the BDI, BAI, and CDS (P < .05). Preoccupation with danger was the strongest predictor, followed by hopelessness, self-blame, total CDS and BDI (P < .05).

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

Nursing students should be evaluated for psychological well-being to prevent psychiatric symptoms such as anxiety and depression.