Challenge or threat? A Q-methodological study into nursing students' perceptions on learning to collaborate under...

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Healthcare Professional Training
• Psychology of Stress

Background:

• Nursing students face significant stress during internships and practice.
• Effective collaboration under stress is crucial for patient care and performance.
• Current training may not adequately address students' diverse needs in managing stress.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify undergraduate nursing students' perspectives on learning collaboration in stressful situations.
• To understand students' needs and desires for stress-related collaboration training.
• To inform improvements in educational designs for collaborative stress management.

Main Methods:

• Employed Q-methodology, a mixed-methods approach analyzing subjectivity.
• Developed a Q-set with 54 statements and recruited 29 undergraduate nursing students.
• Utilized by-person factor analysis to identify shared viewpoints and create student profiles.

Main Results:

• Two distinct student profiles emerged: 'Practice makes perfect, so let's do it' (challenge-oriented) and 'Practice is needed, but it scares me' (anxiety-oriented).
• Profile 1 students viewed stress collaboration as a challenge; Profile 2 students felt anxious despite recognizing its necessity.
• A consensus factor emphasized the importance of a safe learning environment where mistakes are permissible.

Conclusions:

• The identified profiles align with the biopsychosocial model of challenge and threat.
• Recognizing these individual profiles can help tailor educational interventions for nursing students.
• Integrating these insights into training may foster a more adaptive, challenge-focused response to stressful situations.