Nursing student anxiety as a context for teaching/learning.

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Experiential Learning
• Psychomotor Skills Development

Background:

• Experiential learning in nursing, including simulations and clinicals, can increase student anxiety.
• Anxiety may impede nursing students' learning and critical thinking abilities.
• Faculty-student interactions during anxious moments offer unique teaching opportunities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore how nursing faculty can leverage student anxiety during experiential learning.
• To examine the role of caring transactions in managing student anxiety and enhancing learning.
• To investigate the impact of faculty modeling of caring and presence on student outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative analysis of faculty-student interactions during experiential learning.
• Focus on the "caring transaction" as a pedagogical tool.
• Observation of how faculty presence and caring influence student anxiety and skill acquisition.

Main Results:

• The "caring transaction" between faculty and students can transform anxiety into a learning opportunity.
• Faculty modeling of caring and presence helps students manage anxiety.
• Students integrate caring concepts, improving self-care and clinical judgment.

Conclusions:

• Nursing faculty can purposefully use student anxiety to foster caring, presence, and self-care.
• This approach enhances experiential learning, critical thinking, and clinical judgment in nursing students.
• Managing anxiety through caring transactions is key to nursing education success.