Nursing students' perceptions of the early years of clinical education: A qualitative content analysis study

Background: Clinical experience is a vital aspect of practical nursing learning and provides a unique opportunity for students to encounter and experience the complexities and realities of patient care. The present study aimed to explain nursing students' perceptions from the early years of clinical education. Methods: The present study is a qualitative study of conventional content analysis that was conducted on 18 undergraduate students from the 2 to 5 semesters. Sampling was done using semi-structured interviews. The interviews were typed and analyzed. Results: Two themes and five categories were extracted from the study data. The first theme is personal and individual challenges, which includes two categories of paradoxical experiences and effort for self-actualization, and the second theme is supportive and discouraged agents, which includes three categories of clinical educator performance, clinical education environment atmosphere and the nature of staff-student interactions. Conclusions: The findings of the present study showed that students' personality and individual characteristics affect their perceptions of the early years of clinical education. Also, the clinical education environment can be full of protective and suppressive factors for them. The results of the present study can help optimize clinical nursing education.