Undergraduate Student Nurse's Experiences in Clinical Environment: Vertical Violence

Clinical practice is an important part of the educational curriculum of nursing students. Effective and dynamic interactions among the students, health care providers, instructors, and the clinical environment and its elements affect their professional development. The aim of this report as a part of a more extensive research is describing the negative experiences of nursing students in the clinical environment. It was a qualitative study. Data was collected by purposeful sampling from two new graduated staff nurses and 12 undergraduate nursing students in two large nursing and midwifery schools through in-depth semi-structured individual interviews during their clinical placements and after graduation. The data was analyzed using the Strauss and Corbin version (1998) of grounded theory method. Vertical violence was emerged as one of the significant findings of the study. Its manifestations included humiliation, blaming, not being accepted, exploitation, discrimination, bullying, limited learning opportunities and lack of support in the clinical environment. The main origin of these behaviors was mostly nurses and clinical instructors. The findings revealed the non-supportive climate of clinical settings. Nursing students were vulnerable during learning in the clinical setting. Identification and proper management of the issues and challenges faced by nursing students in the clinical environment can provide a welcoming climate for younger colleagues of the profession.