Perceived Stress and Associated Factors among Undergraduate Nursing Students during Academic Clinicals: An Analytical Cross-Sectional Study

Clinical Stress Among Undergraduate Nursing Students

Abstract

This analytical cross-sectional study aimed to determine perceived stress and examine its associations with demographic and academic clinical characteristics among BScN students during academic clinicals at a private nursing institution in Karachi, Pakistan. The data was collected from 136 students by using Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and purposive sampling from August 2021 to October 2021. Independent-samples t-tests and one-way analysis of variance were used for bivariate comparisons. The statistical significance was considered at p < 0.05. 75% female and 25% male participated in the study. The mean total perceived stress score was 49.96 ± 17.26. The factors found to be significantly associated with specific dimensions of academic clinical stress included gender, with male students reporting higher stress related to teachers and nursing staff (p = .036) and lack of professional knowledge and skills (p = .049); marital status, with married students reporting higher stress related to taking care of patients (p = .043); number of academic clinicals, with differences in stress related to lack of professional knowledge and skills (p = .030) and the clinical environment (p = .017); and perception of stress during academic clinicals, with students who perceived themselves as stressed reporting higher stress related to peers and daily life (p = .034). Total perceived stress was not significantly associated with the demographic or academic clinical characteristics examined. These findings identify specific domains of academic clinicals that may warrant attention in clinical supervision and student-support strategies.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.59564/amrj/04.04/004