"Untold and unexpected clinical practice stress," nursing students' experience of disgust: A phenomenological approach

Abstract

Background: In the clinical learning environment, nursing students often face situations that cause physical disgust. Previous studies have shown that more than half of the students experienced disgust, and that high disgust sensitivity in students was related to negative results in terms of academic and caring behavior.

Objectives: This study aims to understand the experience of disgust felt by nursing students in a clinical learning environment.

Design: A qualitative study using phenomenological method.

Methods: In-depth, one-on-one interviews were conducted with 18 nursing students at a university in South Korea. The data obtained through the interviews were used to explore the essential structure and meaning of disgust using phenomenological analysis.

Results: This study derived four categories, nine theme clusters, and twenty-one themes. The four categories were "fear that stimulates the senses," "untold and unexpected clinical practice stress," "ambivalence towards myself and patients," and "struggling to become a nursing professional."

Conclusions: Nurse educators must be aware that nursing students may feel disgust in clinical settings and are therefore under stress. They must also assist students so that their concerns caused by emotions that they cannot easily reveal do not affect their nursing careers.

Keywords: Clinical learning environment; Disgust; Nursing education; Nursing students; Professional identity formation.