Caring ability of nursing students pre- and post-internship: a longitudinal study

Abstract

Background Nursing students’ internship experiences may significantly impact their caring ability. However, there is a lack of comprehensive evaluation of undergraduate nursing students' caring ability pre-and post-internship in China. This study aimed to explore the differences in the caring ability of undergraduate nursing students before and after internship. Methods The sample comprised 305 undergraduate nursing students who had undergone internships during 2018–2020 in three hospitals in Changsha, China. Caring Ability Inventory was used to measure and compare nursing students' caring ability before and after internship. Descriptive statistics and paired t-test were employed to analyze data in SPSS software (version 22.0). Results A total of 300 students completed the survey (response rate = 98.37%). The overall score of caring ability and scores of cognitive and patience dimensions were higher after internship than before internship (P < 0.05). There was no significant improvement in the courage dimension (P > 0.05). Conclusions Caring ability of undergraduate nursing students in China was at a low level, their overall caring ability significantly improved after the internship, indicating a positive relationship between internship and caring ability. Nursing educators and clinical nurses should emphasize the importance of caring ability development in internship planning and encourage nursing students to engage more with patients.

Effectiveness of narrative pedagogy in developing nursing undergraduates’ humanistic care ability for hospitalized children: A mixed-method study

“…This demonstrates that narrative pedagogy is more effective than traditional teaching methods in cultivating nursing students’ care ability. In keeping with findings of Hu et al [ 6 ], cognitive scores were highest among the three CAI dimensions, followed by patience and courage. This may be the result of nursing being a profession dominated by women.…”

“…This quasi-experimental study explored narrative teaching as a strategy to develop nursing students’ humanistic care ability for hospitalized children. Our findings showed that nursing students had low humanistic caring ability, which is in line with findings from a longitudinal study on the caring ability of Chinese nursing students pre- and post-internship [ 6 ]. In China, nursing undergraduate education placed a greater emphasis on developing nursing students’ professional knowledge and practical skills.…”

“…Such problems in traditional humanistic education result in unsatisfactory teaching effects [ 5 ]. Studies [ 6 , 7 ] have shown that the humanistic care ability of nursing students is low, and most of them lack an understanding of the concept of caring for children. Therefore, developing a humanistic caring ability for unwell children is an essential professional competency for nursing students.…”

Caring Ability and Professional Values of Polish Nursing Students—A Cross-Sectional Study

“…The “knowledge” subscale shows the degree of perception of oneself and the person who is under the nurse’s care; “courage” can be seen as the ability to cope with sudden and unknown situations in the care process; and “patience” is related to acceptance and perseverance in professional practice [ 1 ]. Similar results were obtained by researchers from China [ 30 ], where the vast majority of respondents were women who displayed greater patience than courage in patient care, as this depends on how much professional experience has been gained [ 30 , 34 ].…”

“…The overall score of the CAI indicates that students present with low caring abilities. Similar results were obtained for undergraduate students from China [ 30 , 31 ], and slightly higher scores were obtained for students from America [ 31 ]. Professional values and caring abilities may therefore depend on the geographical region in which nursing students receive education.…”