Psychological Safety of Sonography Students

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the psychological safety of students in sonography education programs. Materials and Methods: This study was a secondary data analysis of sonography students from a larger multi-disciplinary study of imaging students. Two hundred and seventy sonography program directors were sent a revised version of the psychological safety in high fidelity simulation scale (PSHFSS) instrument to share with their clinical students. Descriptive statistics and paired t -tests were conducted to assess psychological safety. Results: Sonography students reported significantly higher psychological safety scores in the classroom compared with the clinical environment, t (144) = 4.92, P < .001. Significant differences were found in total psychological safety and in the subscales of Dealing with Uncertainty , Being Unsupported , and Interpersonal Risk , all favoring the classroom setting. The highest psychological safety was observed in the Being Exposed subscale, while the lowest was in Dealing with Uncertainty . Conclusion: Sonography students experience lower psychological safety in clinical environments than in the classroom and laboratory. Targeted strategies to enhance psychological safety during clinical education may be warranted.