A Nationwide Italian Cross-sectional Study on Nursing Students' Perceived Workplace Safety During Clinical Practice

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education Research
• Clinical Environment Safety
• Healthcare Professional Development

Background:

• Student perception of a safe clinical working environment is vital for professional skill development and career progression in nursing.
• Understanding student experiences in clinical settings informs educational strategies and supports future nursing workforce development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify the extent to which nursing students perceive their clinical workplaces as safe during rotations.
• To identify factors influencing nursing students' perceptions of workplace safety in clinical settings.

Main Methods:

• A nationwide cross-sectional study conducted in Italy involving 9607 nursing students from 27 universities.
• Data collected from 95 three-year nursing programs between 2015-2016, with secondary analyses performed in 2019.

Main Results:

• A significant majority of students perceived their clinical environments as safe to some extent (42.1%) or always (26.0%).
• Factors positively associated with a safe perception included enhanced learning opportunities, high safety and nursing care quality, effective tutorial strategies, and self-directed learning support.
• Only a small percentage (4.2%) of students reported never feeling safe in their workplace.

Conclusions:

• Nursing faculty must rigorously evaluate clinical settings to ensure they provide a safe and conducive learning experience.
• Prioritizing quality learning opportunities and supportive environments is essential for fostering positive student perceptions of clinical safety.