Perceived stress in clinical practice among nursing students

Introduction Caring for individuals in clinical and community settings exposes healthcare professionals to situations that can generate stress, potentially affecting their health. Similarly, the scientific literature has identified situations within formative practices that significantly impact nursing students and may induce stress. Objective To determine the clinical practice stressors perceived by undergraduate nursing students based on sociodemographic and academic characteristics. Methods A cross-sectional quantitative study was conducted among undergraduate nursing students enrolled in clinical practice. Participants were recruited through convenience sampling, and data were collected using an online survey that included the KEZKAK questionnaire. Associations between perceived stressors and sociodemographic and academic variables were analyzed. Results The average score on the KEZKAK scale was 1.71, indicating a moderate level of perceived stress. Stress was reported in 75.36% of the items. Statistically significant differences were found by sex (higher among females) and academic semester (higher in the fifth and eighth semesters). The most frequently reported stress domains on the KEZKAK scale were the patient seeking an intimate relationship (49.6%), overload (33.3%), and perceived lack of competence (30.2%). Conclusion The main stressors identified among nursing students during clinical practice were related to facing situations that can affect their ability to manage interpersonal relationships, especially when faced with insinuations of an intimate relationship, followed by overload and the perception of a lack of competence. Similarly, fear of exposure to biological hazards could be identified in a smaller proportion.