Challenges and Difficulties During the Nursing Internship Program Using 5 Domains: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• The nursing internship is a critical transition period for nursing students to become professional nurses.
• Internship programs face challenges in inter-departmental organization, practitioner communication, and college-hospital coordination.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the challenges and difficulties encountered by nursing interns during their internship program.
• To evaluate the perceptions of intern nurses and preceptors regarding the internship experience.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in four hospitals in the Asir region, Saudi Arabia.
• Data was collected from 112 participants (19 intern nurses, 93 preceptors) using a researcher-designed questionnaire.
• The questionnaire covered administrative, organizational, and nursing procedures, preceptor challenges, and communication barriers.

Main Results:

• Participants generally agreed on the effectiveness of administrative procedures (Mean 4.45).
• Agreement was also noted for organizational procedures, nursing procedures, preceptor challenges, and communication barriers (Mean 4.0-4.1).

Conclusions:

• The nursing internship program is generally well-received, particularly its administrative and regulatory aspects.
• Difficulties were identified in nursing procedures, including the assignment of non-nursing tasks, and communication barriers due to preceptor busyness.