Student Nurses’ First Patient Death Experience in the Clinical Duty: A Phenomenological Study

Abstract

This study explored the student nurses’ first patient death experience in the clinical duty. A qualitative research design particularly phenomenological approach was used in this study. Colaizzi’s method was used as data analytic procedure among 11 participants. Themes from the transcribed data were generated. The data validation was done by the clinical instructors and block mates. The three domains that emerged from this study are a personal experience of a nursing student on patient death, coping mechanisms, and perception towards the nursing profession. Personal experience has three sub-themes: intrapersonal experience, interpersonal experience, and impact of death. Coping mechanisms introduced two sub-themes: Emotion-focused and problem-focused. Two emergent themes arose from perception towards nursing profession: positive and negative. This study has provided an understanding of nursing students’ patient death experience in the clinical duty. In this study, students recognized their feelings of sadness, anxiety and feeling challenged. However, they also felt supported and recognized value of the learning experience for future practice. This study identifies that placement in the clinical setting that provides a supportive learning environment can contribute to a positive experience for students.