Revealing the Experiences of Nursing Students In Psychiatric Hospital Placement: Hidden Challenges in the Covid-19 Era
Ira Kusumawaty, Yunike, Lukman

Politeknik Kesehatan Kemenkes Palembang

Abstract

The coronavirus outbreak has caused multifaceted problems and placed great demands on nursing students at the psychiatric clinical placement. Coping strategies have a significant effect on dealing with stress due to the emotional fluctuation of psychiatric patients which exacerbates the challenges of treating the Covid-19 condition. Exploring the capabilities of these is still very limited, even though understanding about stress and coping strategies are greatly influencing nursing students achievement. This study aims to determine the challenges faced by nursing students while undergoing psychiatric nursing practice during the Covid-19 pandemic. The qualitative research used a phenomenological approach with convenient sampling technique until it reached saturation and recruited nine nursing students. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data related to participants experiences during clinical placement in mental hospitals. The results of interviews were documented as transcripts and were read repeatedly and data analysis using Colaizzi method to form codes, categorizations and themes. There were two main themes identified, firstly, anxiety when treating patients with Covid-19, including behavior and emotions of psychiatric patients and fear of contracting COVID-19. The second main theme is coping in dealing with stress, which is shown by praying to God, limiting reading social media, protecting oneself and expressing feelings. To evaluate the study, the COREQ checklist was used. The research implication is to accelerate the resolution of clinical practice problems during the Covid-19 period so that optimization of mental nursing clinical practice can be realized through mentoring and managing time for students.

Keywords: Covid-19, hidden challenges, nursing students, psychiatric hospital placement

Topic: Nursing and anesthesiology