Determining the Relationship Between Attitudes and Perceived Stress Levels of Nursing Students Towards Their First Clinical Practice: A Descriptive-Cross-Sectional Study

Objective: Clinical practice has a key role in nursing education and offers students the opportunity to use and experience the scientific knowledge learned in theoretical courses in patient care. Students who enter an environment where real patients and healthcare teams are present during clinical practice experience many problems. Material and Methods: This study aims to determine the relationship between nursing students' attitudes toward their first clinical practice and their perceived stress levels. A descriptive, cross-sectional study. The study was conducted in the nursing department of a university between February 2023 and February 2024. 254 students going into clinical practice for the first time participated in the research. Data were collected through a face-to-face survey using the ''Descriptive Characteristics Form'', ''Attitude Towards Clinical Practice Scale'', and ''Perceived Stress Scale for Nursing Students''. Results: The total score average of the students' Attitude Towards Clinical Practice scale was 110.20±15.28. The total score average of the Perceived Stress scale is 71.32±26.15. The relationship between the Attitude Towards Clinical Practices and the Perceived Stress scale and its subscales was not statistically significant (p>0.05). Conclusion: Research findings show that nursing students develop positive attitudes and experience moderate levels of stress in their first clinical practice. It is stated that the increase in satisfaction with the nursing department positively affects the attitude towards clinical practice and reduces the stress level. In addition, for the first time, high school graduation and gender were found to be variables affecting stress during clinical practice.