Nursing students' experiences of colleague violence and its impact on professional commitment: A qualitative study

In this research, it was aimed to examine the experiences of colleague violence and professional commitment of final year nursing students during the clinical practice process.

A descriptive phenomenological qualitative research design was used.

It was conducted in the nursing department of a state university in a province in eastern Turkey.

Criterion sampling method, one of the purposive sampling methods, was used to include 14 students who were exposed to colleague violence. Data were collected through face-to-face semi-structured in-depth interviews between June and July 2025.

All interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. The COREQ checklist was used in the conduct and reporting of the research.

Data analysis revealed five themes: types of colleague violence, emotional reactions and professional effects, coping strategies, professional commitment and belonging, and suggestions for improvement in education and clinical environment. Students most commonly described verbal reprimands, exclusion, humiliation, condescending attitudes and being assigned non-professional tasks. These experiences led to feelings of worthlessness, loss of self-confidence, reduced motivation, withdrawal from clinical practice and, for some students, thoughts of leaving the profession.

As a result of the research, it was determined that final year nursing students were negatively affected by colleague violence and this situation affected their commitment to the profession. It is very important to determine the experiences of colleague violence experienced by nursing students during clinical practice and the effects of violence on students and to ensure that measures are taken to reduce it.