The Facilitators and Barriers in Coping with Clinical Stress: The Experiences of Nursing Students in Iran

Introduction and purpose: Nursing students are faced with great stress in clinical settings. The knowledge of the facilitators and barriers in coping with such stresses is necessary for performing any kind of intervention. The present qualitative content analysis was conducted to determine the facilitators and barriers in coping with clinical stresses in nursing students.

Materials and methods: This qualitative study was conducted in Jiroft city in 2017. Participants were 19 undergraduate nursing students and two nursing instructors selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected through semistructured interactive interviews and were then analyzed according to Graneheim and Lundman’s qualitative content analysis. Data were analyzed using the MAXQDA software.

Findings: The analysis of the data led to the emergence of three main themes, including personal facilitators, professional facilitators and the uneven clinical path.

Discussion and conclusion: By identifying the facilitators and barriers in coping with clinical stress in nursing students, the results of this study can lead to the efficient management of these factors by the students themselves as well as by their

instructors, the education authorities and the nursing personnel.