Palestinian Staff Nurses' Attitudes Toward Nursing Students

Abstract

Clinical practice is a substantial part of the nursing curriculum aimed at actively engaging student nurses with the necessary skills needed for the nursing profession. Clinical nurses play an important role in this teaching learning process. The relationship between nursing student and staff member in the clinical area can either facilitate or hamper students' learning. However, negative attitudes of nurses threaten student progression and retention. The purpose of this study was to deepen understanding of staff nurses' attitudes toward nursing students within the context of clinical education in Palestine. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study design was utilized in this study. The entire staff nurses of surgical, medical, emergency …. (n=350) employed at four hospitals (two private & two government) were selected proportionately. A self-administered questionnaire and a demographic tool designed by the researcher were used to collect data. Attitudes were measured using a five point Likert scale. The results demonstrated that attitude toward nursing students were neutral or slightly positive. Some nurses (50.6%) believed that nursing students are eager to learn and most (92.9%) have thought that nursing students respect staff nurses as practitioners. Findings also suggest student nurses believe staff nurses are a positive influence, essential in the development of professional socialization. Conclusion: Staff-student relationships are essential to the creation of positive clinical experiences. The author recommends that continued research of nurses who work with student nurses, as well as exploration of the nurse educator’s perspective, is needed.