Internship is considered as a main requirement for nursing students in Saudi Arabia in order to acquire the degree in bachelor of nursing. Also, it is mandatory for them to be registered and qualified nurses in healthcare settings in Saudi Arabia. Thus, there is a need to understand their experiences during the internship to enhance their experiences and maximize the benefits of internship. The aim of this review was to understand and synthesize qualitative research systematically on the experiences of nursing interns during their internship in Saudi Arabia. This review used a qualitative systematic review methodology with thematic synthesis. Nine databases (ProQuest Dissertations & Theses, ERIC, Scopus, PsycINFO, PubMed, Web of Science, ABI/INFORM, CINAHIL, Saudi Digital Library (SDL)) were searched from 1 January 1967 to 1 December 2023, and 56 abstracts were screened. Two screening stages were applied to review studies. Only qualitative studies, conducted in Saudi Arabia, explained the experiences of nursing students during their internship, published in English were included. Thirteen studies were included in this review. Four themes were identified based on the nursing interns' experience during their internship in Saudi Arabia which are challenges and growth opportunities in a nursing internship, the critical role of preceptorship in nursing internship, challenges and barriers faced by male nursing interns, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on nursing interns. This review identifies the importance of understanding of nursing interns' experiences and highlights the keys elements that are necessary to improve the internship experience. The usefulness of internships in the nursing profession can be greatly increased by addressing the interns' concerns which in turns could enhance the outcomes related to interns, patients, and healthcare settings. This study recommends that preceptorship programs should be enhanced by including formal training for preceptors and structured support for interns. However, some limitations were found for this review, including geographical scope, heterogeneity of studies, potential publication bias.
Althobaiti et al. (Tue,) studied this question.