Identification of stressors in nursing degree students before starting their clinical training

Abstract

Objective: to determine the stress factors declared by Nursing Degree students prior to the first period of clinical learning. Methodology: a cross-sectional descriptive observational study. The population were 129 nursing students of the Campus Docent Sant Joan de Déu, who had not started their clinical learning. A descriptive analysis of the variables included in the study is carried out, examining the relationship of each of them with the total score and with the scores of each factor of the validated Kezkak questionnaire. Results: the mean age was 22.6 years and 80.6% were women. 63.6% of the population studied had no previous experience. Analysing the relationship between the sociodemographic variables and the total questionnaire score, statistically significant differences were found regarding age (p = 0.008), in the sense that the older the student, the less the concern about the placements. The relationship between the questionnaire factors and the different variables showed statistically significant differences: between factor 3 and the shift (p = 0.024); between factor 5 and sex (p = 0.031); and between factors 1, 2, 4, 5, 8 and 9 and age. Conclusions: lack of competence, contact with suffering, powerlessness and uncertainty, and not being able to control the relationship with the patient are the situations that most concern students before their practical training.