The Difficulties and Educational Stress of Nursing Students in Clinical Practice during the Covid

Abstract

The present study aims to determine the challenges and educational stresses of nursing students in clinical practices during the COVID-19 pandemic and to offer solutions for these issues. The research was conducted at two universities in Turkey between December 2021 and February 2022. Data were collected using a Sociodemographic Diagnostic Form and the Nursing Education Stress Scale. Of the nursing students who participated in our study, 58.2% were 20 years old or younger, 74% were female, and 48.5% were sophomores. In addition, 43.9% of participants had lower expenses than their income. Our results showed that students' total score average on the nursing education stress scale was 61.74±23.58. We found a statistically significant difference between the total score on the Nursing Education Stress Scale and the mean scores of the sub-dimensions of Practice Stress and Academic Stress according to the class and income level of the students. Furthermore, we observed a statistically significant difference by gender between the mean scores of the Practical Stress and Academic Stress sub-dimensions (p<0.05). The nursing students experienced moderate stress during their nursing education. The stress level was higher in female sophomore students whose income was equal to their expenses and whose income was less than their expenses. We suggest that the nursing students’ behaviours of problem-solving, decision-making and coping with stress should be improved.