Nursing students' perception of difficulties of nursing care

Abstract

Aim. To assess the perception of the difficulty of providing nursing care among nursing students and to analyze: 1. the significance of the differences between the year of study/ type of hospital ward and self-perceived of the difficulty of nursing care, 2. the significance of the relationship between the length of practice/ quality of assessment of clinical training and self-perceived of the difficulty of nursing care. Methods. A cross-sectional study was carried out. Data collection took place in the period 10/2021 – 03/2022 using a self-designed questionnaire. The research sample consisted of 173 students with an average age of 21 years. The students assessed the difficulty of nursing care (0 = none, 10 = extreme) and their clinical preparation under laboratory conditions (1 = best, 6 = insufficient after clinical training in the paediatric, surgical and medical wards).In data analysis, we used descriptive statistics methods, Mann-Whitney test, Kruskal-Wallis test, Spearman correlation. Results. The students' perception of difficulties of nursing care was at the level of 3.56 (SD – 1.88). The most complicated areas included use of invasive procedures (M – 4.47), ensuring patient safety (M – 4.27), working with instruments (M – 4,06). The difficulty of nursing care provided to paediatric patients is the most demanding in comparison with surgical and internal wards. We identified a significant association between the difficulties of nursing care and clinical preparing (r: 0.462). The theoretical laboratory preparation for clinical training in paediatrics' departments was the most difficult (p = 0.001). Conclusions. In reducing the students' perception of the difficulty of nursing care, their more adequate preparation for clinical training under laboratory conditions plays an important role. In the first place, it is necessary to modify the teaching-learning process related to the clinical training in paediatric workplaces.