Israel's Nursing Students' Stress Sources and Coping Strategies During their First Clinical Experience in Hospital Wards – A Qualitative Research

Nursing students often experience high levels of stress during their first clinical experience in hospital wards. That may result in psychological or emotional impairment during their professional life ultimately affecting the quality of patient care they provide. The aim of this qualitative study was to identify the types/ sources of stress perceived by nursing students in Israel in their initial period of clinical practice and to identify the coping strategies that students used to relieve their stress. An in- depth interview was conducted with eleven nursing students' representative of second year under- graduate students from two nursing school in Israel. Content analysis was applied. Results showed that nursing students experience stress during their first clinical experience in the ward. The source of stress for these students came mainly from assignment work, clinical environment, sights, complex patients and lack of clinical skills. Stress experienced in the first clinical experience is a key factor to the use of coping strategies. Along with the use of problem-focused coping strategies, the students also used emotion-focused coping strategies seeking to reduce their difficulty and stress in their clinical experience in the ward, and enhance their sense of joy. The foundation for the students' success during the experience is a professional and social support network, which should constitute a strong and extensive support system that the students can use to achieve success.



Keywords: students, First clinical experience, stress, coping strategies, clinical practice