STRESS AND COPING: FIRST-YEAR NEPALESE NURSING STUDENTS IN CLINICAL SETTINGS.
Contributors: Columbia University. Teachers College.
Published: 1992
Number of pages: 125
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.; Health Sciences, Mental Health.
Description: The purposes of this descriptive study were: (a) to identify stressful events of first-year Nepalese nursing students in the clinical setting, and (b) to determine how these students cope with the stressful events in the clinical setting.

The sample consisted of 104 students from four nursing campuses in Nepal. They were all full-time female students who had been in the clinical setting for 6-8 weeks. Auxiliary nurse midwife (ANM) students were excluded from the research study in order to have a homogenous sample.

The critical incident technique was utilized to identify students' stressful events. An open-ended question was the basis for gathering information about how students coped with their identified stressful events in the clinical setting.

Descriptions of stressful events reported on critical incident technique were classified into four categories: interpersonal relationships (negative interaction), initial experiences, feeling helpless, and demeaning experiences. The most frequently reported stressful event was interpersonal relationships (50%). The remaining stressful events identified by the students, in descending order, were: initial experiences (27.9%), feeling helpless (13.4%) and demeaning experiences (8.7%).

The statements used by the students when describing how they coped with the identified stressful events were selected and then classified into eight categories (types) of coping: problem solving, accepting responsibility, seeking social support, self-control, tension reduction, avoidance, wishful thinking and negative feelings. In all four categories of stressful events, the majority of students utilized the "seeking social support" category of coping. Overall, students used more emotion-focused types of coping than problem-focused types of coping.

Since the students experienced stress in the clinical setting, it suggests that nurse educators in Nepal need to take the initiative to identify students' stressful experiences, assist them to cope, and create a humanistic climate that supports the process of learning. A comfortable and supportive learning environment would offer students feelings of confidence, hope and increased self-esteem.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-08, Section: B, page: 4081.

Thesis (ED.D.)--COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY TEACHERS COLLEGE, 1992.

School code: 0055.