Experiences and Perceptions of Nursing Students during the COVID-19 Crisis in Spain

Julián Rodríguez-Almagro, Antonio Hernández-Martínez, Cristina Romero-Blanco, Alejandro Martínez-Arce, Maria del Carmen Prado-Laguna and Francisco Jose García-Sanchez
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Julián Rodríguez-Almagro: Department of Nursing, Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy, Ciudad Real Faculty of Nursing, University of Castilla-La Mancha, 13071 Ciudad Real, Spain
Antonio Hernández-Martínez: Department of Nursing, Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy, Ciudad Real Faculty of Nursing, University of Castilla-La Mancha, 13071 Ciudad Real, Spain
Cristina Romero-Blanco: Department of Nursing, Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy, Ciudad Real Faculty of Nursing, University of Castilla-La Mancha, 13071 Ciudad Real, Spain
Alejandro Martínez-Arce: Center of Advanced Simulation, Hospital of Ciudad Real, SESCAM, 13005 Ciudad Real, Spain
Maria del Carmen Prado-Laguna: Department of Nursing, Dean of the Nursing Faculty of Ciudad Real, University of Castilla La-Mancha, 13001 Ciudad Real, Spain
Francisco Jose García-Sanchez: Ministry of Health, Community Board of Castilla la Mancha, 13001 Ciudad Real, Spain

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 19, 1-14

Abstract: In the early stages of the 2019 coronavirus pandemic in Spain, the Spanish health system was overwhelmed, mainly due to a lack of personnel, and many hospital centers collapsed by following avalanche of patients with COVID-19; this meant that the National System of Health called for fourth-year nursing students to come to the hospital as health care personnel. Our aim was to describe the perceptions and experiences of a sample of nursing students during the early stages of the outbreak. We conducted a qualitative study with an empirical-phenomenological approach. Twenty nursing students in their final year of study in Spain were recruited using purposive and snowball sampling. They participated in in-depth interviews between 20 April and 10 May 2020. The interviews were transcribed and then analyzed using Haase’s adaptation of Colaizzi’s phenomenological method. Four main themes emerged from data analysis: “social responsibility and pride as a health worker”, “pressure caused by working with COVID-19 patients”, “feeling defenseless and let down”, and “personal growth as a health worker”. These main themes were further divided into 11 theme categories. Due to an intense work day for several days in a row, the students were tired and mentally exhausted. Even so, they managed to overcome any difficulties, demonstrating their professional dedication and resilience. Greater preparatory support should be provided to safeguard the well-being of these future healthcare providers. More intensive preparatory training is necessary for health sciences students to facilitate crisis preparedness and effective crisis management. It is necessary to implement support from healthcare systems, including sufficient personal protective equipment, as well as contracts that accurately reflect the work they do. It is necessary for nursing supervisors to have effective communication in the performance of their functions with nursing students; this dialogue helps to clearly explain which are the functions that students must perform when they are carrying out their internships. There is also a need for preparatory training in managing infectious diseases such as COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19; nursing students; pandemic; perceptions; experiences; qualitative research (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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