The learning experiences of basic nursing skills among undergraduate nursing students at double first-class...

Basic nursing skills are vital professional skills for nursing students. However, nursing students demonstrate varying levels of proficiency in skill learning and exams, particularly at Double First-Class universities.

This study aimed to explore the learning experiences of undergraduate nursing students at these universities as they learn nursing skills, thereby providing robust empirical data to inform the development of strategies aimed at enhancing skill proficiency from the students' perspective.

This study employed a descriptive qualitative study design and implemented a purposive sampling approach. Recruitment took place from April to May 2025, targeting full-time undergraduate nursing students at a Double First-Class university in Shanghai. The thematic analysis method was utilized to analyze the collected data.

A total of 15 students participated in the interviews. The study's findings delineated four themes: learning motivation, facilitating factors of skills learning, impeding factors of skills learning, and learning management needs.

Among Double First-Class universities, some nursing students have a positive attitude towards acquiring nursing skills due to anticipated professional responsibilities, but many still show passive learning tendencies. Faculty guidance and peer support are important for student engagement. Ineffective initial skill-learning, lack of attention to skill learning, the gap between school and clinic, and limited free time negatively affect some students' enthusiasm and commitment. Meeting students' core demands, including sufficient training materials, diverse learning resources, professional guidance, and mandatory measures, can provide empirical evidence for optimizing nursing skills teaching models and refining talent cultivation systems at these universities.