Living experiences of nursing students during the internship program: A phenomenological study

IntroductionInternship is a program for transition of nursing students to clinical setting. this study was conducted to describe and interpret the experiences of nursing students from the internship program. Material and MethodsThis was a phenomenology study with Van Menen approach in six steps. ۱۲ nursing students were selected from ۱۲ different universities in Iran, from April to August ۲۰۲۰. Data was collected with ۱۵ semi-structured interviews (three supplementary interviews) over the course of ۲۵ to ۹۰ minutes and verbatim transcriptions. Data analyzed with MAXQDA version ۱۰ software. The researcher used four Guba and Lincoln criteria to obtain rigorous of study. Results In this study, three main themes and eight subthemes were extract. The main themes included "professional identity development", "moving towards professional self-efficacy", and "developing coping strategies for workplace adversities". The subthemes were "Promoting the cognition of profession", "Acceptance among colleagues as a nurse", "Accepting professional roles", "Self-awareness of weaknesses in patient care", "Self-reliance", "Advancing clinical skills", "Adopting effective coping strategies" and "Avoiding tension in clinical settings". Conclusion Nursing students had positive and experiences in internship program, that cause their professional capabilities improvement, already for real working and transition from student to professional nurse.

Keywords:

Internship program , nursing , student , phenomenology study