Providing personal care is one of the most significant activities of nursing care. Nursing students, who approach the patient's body for the first time, may experience a wide range of emotions, affecting their attitude toward the nursing profession and performance. Nevertheless, the emotional aspects related to providing personal care in nursing education have remained relatively neglected. A qualitative descriptive study was performed to describe the emotions felt by first-year nursing students when providing personal care and to analyze the situations which triggered their emotions. First-year students (N = 145) were asked to narrate episodes of body care evoking both positive and negative emotions. Emotions were analyzed according to Damasio's theory while trigger situations were inductively found through a content analysis. Our results show that first-year nursing students experienced mostly social emotions, with a significant triggering role played by patients. In most of the narratives, patients were seen as a source of (un)recognition and personal (un)satisfaction. In this pattern, the patients play a fundamental role in supporting their confidence. Providing emotional education and peer discussion/sharing may facilitate the ability of nursing students to become aware of their own feelings and to be focused on patient's needs.

Nursing students' emotions evoked by the first contact with patient's body: A qualitative study

Santo, Letizia Dal;Ambrosi, Elisa;Maragna, Michela;Marognolli, Oliva;Canzan, Federica
2020-01-01

Abstract

Providing personal care is one of the most significant activities of nursing care. Nursing students, who approach the patient's body for the first time, may experience a wide range of emotions, affecting their attitude toward the nursing profession and performance. Nevertheless, the emotional aspects related to providing personal care in nursing education have remained relatively neglected. A qualitative descriptive study was performed to describe the emotions felt by first-year nursing students when providing personal care and to analyze the situations which triggered their emotions. First-year students (N = 145) were asked to narrate episodes of body care evoking both positive and negative emotions. Emotions were analyzed according to Damasio's theory while trigger situations were inductively found through a content analysis. Our results show that first-year nursing students experienced mostly social emotions, with a significant triggering role played by patients. In most of the narratives, patients were seen as a source of (un)recognition and personal (un)satisfaction. In this pattern, the patients play a fundamental role in supporting their confidence. Providing emotional education and peer discussion/sharing may facilitate the ability of nursing students to become aware of their own feelings and to be focused on patient's needs.
2020
Emotions; Narratives; Nursing education; Nursing students; Personal care; Qualitative studies
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11562/1010387
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