First year nursing students' viewpoints about compromised clinical safety.

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Patient Safety
• Clinical Learning

Background:

• Patient safety is a core professional and moral obligation for undergraduate nursing students from the start of their program.
• Understanding student perspectives on clinical safety is crucial for developing effective educational strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore first-year undergraduate nursing students' viewpoints on unsafe clinical learning situations.
• To identify common themes and perspectives regarding patient safety in clinical education.

Main Methods:

• Q-methodology was employed to analyze student perspectives.
• Sixty-eight first-year nursing students ranked 43 statements about unsafe clinical situations.
• Data analysis utilized a Q-program for factor analysis.

Main Results:

• Four distinct viewpoints of unsafe clinical situations were identified among first-year students: inner discomfort, practicing contrary to conventions, lacking professional integrity, and disharmonizing relations.
• A consensus emerged that clinical educators are not solely responsible for ensuring clinical safety.
• Student perceptions highlight multifaceted challenges in maintaining a safe clinical learning environment.

Conclusions:

• Findings can help students and educators collaboratively create a safer clinical learning environment.
• Understanding student viewpoints is essential for improving nursing education and patient safety practices.
• This research provides a foundation for developing targeted interventions to enhance clinical safety awareness among nursing students.