Coping with the Experience of Bad Sleep and Fatigue Associated with the Nursing Clinical Practicum

Abstract

Nursing students experience anxiety during clinical practicum, which may interfere with their learning of clinical practice. This study explored the practicum anxiety symptom experience of clinical nursing students. The methodology was a qualitative research design following a grounded theory approach. Research data were gathered via theoretical sampling from 37 female college nursing students practicing in a Central Taiwan hospital and analyzed using the content analysis method. The mean age of the subjects was 20.7 ± 1.35 years old. The practicum-related anxiety symptom experience was made up of core dimensions associated with the nursing clinical practicum, such as bad sleep and fatigue, and covered six themes. Students first encountered anxiety-inducing situations in the clinical setting, and then they began coping through self-adaptation and teachers’ help. In cases of coping failure, students began to have a bad sleep in the night and then felt tired and fatigued all day. These themes became a repeating cycle during the clinical practicum. This conceptual model shows that students experienced bad sleep and fatigue as a result of anxiety symptoms during the clinical practicum. Bad sleep and fatigue are critical anxiety symptoms for nursing students in clinical practice. Nursing teachers should pay attention to bad sleep and fatigue in nursing students and help students to improve their mental and physical health.

The perception and association between depression and academic stress among female undergraduate nursing students: a cross-sectional study

“…Evidence showed that first year nursing students had higher depression rate than fourth year nursing students and by the time they start clinical practice (26). Previous literature showed that a high level of stress in nursing students was associated with depression and anxiety (9,(27)(28)(29). The authors reported that the causes of stressors include unfamiliarity with academic environment, concerns over failure, performance evaluation by the instructors, and ineffective communication with instructors.…”

“…Nursing students, among the other fields of medical sciences, are exposed to more stressors while studying and they are at high risk of depression more than any other students in non-medical science fields ( 6 ) Depression is associated with disruption of biological rhythms, fatigue, and insomnia ( 9 ). Good mental health is essential for students’ academic performance, concentration, self-efficacy, and quality of life ( 10 ).…”