Clinical experiences of nursing students, a qualitative study

Clinical practice is an indispensible component of nursing students' education. Recognition of their real experiences and understanding of their clinical training difficulties in this area may help to develop a better clinical instruction strategies and improvement of education. This study was aimed to get a betterperception regarding nursing students' clinical experiences assuming qualitative method. To gain access to nursing students' views about their clinical experiences, focus group approach was employed. 30 of the whole 120 nursing students of Bojnord Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery were [purposefully selected and according to their entry year divided into three groups each of which including 10 students. Each group was interviewed separately by focus group method. Using content analysis to extract concepts and themes, data were coded in three levels. At the first step, the meaning units were recognized and coded. Then the meaning units were categorized in second level of data; and finally the themes as the third level of data were derived. Three main themes were evolved from qualitative data analysis: "anxiety", "motivation", and"theory practice gap". Study revealed the feeling of discouragement and reluctance among students. Also fear and anxiety as consequences of knowledge insufficiency, improper reactions of instructors in case of students' errors, and unfair evaluation were among experiences verbalized by nursing students. With regard to undeniable role of psychological factors, internal and external motivations of nursing students in acquiring I clinical skills, findings of this study may help educational managers and clinical instructors in planning nursing clinical courses and improvement of teaching-learning processes.