How nursing students learn infection control education through undergraduate nursing programs: a phenomenographic...

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Infection Control
• Patient Safety

Background:

• Effective infection control is vital for nursing best practices and patient safety.
• Limited research exists on infection control education for nursing students before clinical practice.
• Understanding nursing students' conceptualizations of infection control is essential.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore how nursing students conceptualize infection control care within undergraduate nursing programs.
• To identify the learning experiences related to infection control among nursing students.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative research using phenomenography.
• Data collected via semi-structured interviews with 30 nursing students from diverse academic years.
• Analysis employed a phenomenographic approach to understand student perspectives.

Main Results:

• Identified six descriptive categories of nursing students' conceptualizations of infection control care.
• Identified six descriptive categories detailing how nursing students learn about infection control.
• Presented a structural framework illustrating the learning process for infection control.

Conclusions:

• Nursing students exhibit diverse conceptualizations and learning levels regarding infection control.
• Educators and mentors should tailor theoretical and clinical training to accommodate these variations.
• Developing targeted educational strategies can enhance infection control competency in future nurses.