Nursing Students' Perceptions of Anxiety-Producing Situations in the Clinical Setting

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Abstract
Aspects of nursing students' clinical experiences are anxiety provoking. High anxiety may contribute to decreased learning. The purpose of this study was to identify potentially anxiety-producing clinical experiences for student nurses. Thirty-nine junior and 53 senior nursing students from a BS degree program completed the "Clinical Experience Assessment form," a 16-item Likert scale. The items included communication and procedural aspects of patient care, interpersonal relationships with healthcare providers, and interactions with faculty. An open-ended question asked students to identify the most anxiety-producing aspect of their clinical practice. The students expressed the highest anxiety for the initial clinical experience on a unit and the fear of making mistakes. Faculty evaluation and observation were also anxiety-producing. The results of the student t-test indicated that juniors were significantly higher in their expression of anxiety than seniors. The main theme from the content analysis was that students' anxiety was increased in the clinical setting by their perceptions of nonsupportive faculty.