Korean Nursing Students' First Experiences of Clinical Practice in Psychiatric Nursing: A Phenomenological Study.

Sunkyung Cha,Hyunjung Moon,Eunyoung Park

doi:10.3390/healthcare8030215

Abstract

Nursing students have a more negative attitude toward psychiatric practice than other practices. In particular, Korean nursing students experience increased pressure during clinical practice in psychiatric nursing due to sociocultural and institutional influences, such as prejudices, fear, and anxiety towards mental illnesses. This study aimed to conduct an investigation on students’ first experiences of clinical practice in psychiatric nursing. Participants were 12 fourth year nursing students in South Korea. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews, and data analysis was done using Colaizzi’s phenomenological method. The students’ experiences of clinical practice in psychiatric nursing could be categorized into emotional fluctuation, burnout, transformation, and growth. The results of this study show that nursing students experienced emotional fluctuation and burnout at the beginning of their clinical practice in psychiatric nursing. At the end of the clinical practice, they experienced transformation and growth. The study suggests that nursing instructors and on-site staff need to interact with nursing students to understand the nature of these first experiences and support them through teaching and field guidance.

Highlights

The length of hospitalization for mental illnesses in Korea is longer than that in other countries [1], and Korea’s involuntary hospitalization rate is the highest among Organization for EconomicCooperation and Development (OECD) countries [2]
Existing research has identified negative themes of the clinical practice experience in the psychiatric unit, such as a lack of integration of theory and praxis, the absence of a holistic approach to psychiatric nursing, inadequate professional support, and a lack of resources [19], this study uniquely identified a transition from negative experiences to positive outcomes, a finding that is absent from existing research
Communication and empathy through emotional exchanges is a technique of therapeutic communication, and the students who participated in this study reported a genuine, empathetic understanding of the plight of the patients through the clinical practice in psychiatric nursing

Summary

Introduction

The length of hospitalization for mental illnesses in Korea is longer than that in other countries [1], and Korea’s involuntary hospitalization rate is the highest among Organization for EconomicCooperation and Development (OECD) countries [2]. The length of hospitalization for mental illnesses in Korea is longer than that in other countries [1], and Korea’s involuntary hospitalization rate is the highest among Organization for Economic. Social prejudices regarding mental illnesses are important problems that affect the individual, and the family, community, and country. These prejudices are widely distributed globally, regardless of culture, including Korea [3,4,5]. Nursing students experience increased pressure during clinical practice in psychiatric nursing due to prejudices, fear, and anxiety towards mental illnesses, and show differences in establishing relationships or the satisfaction of clinical practices in psychiatric nursing [7,8,9]

Objectives

Discussion

Conclusion