Abstract

Context and Purpose

During the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain, students in the year of undergraduate degree were hired to provide care assistance support in hospitals. The purpose of the study is to explore their experiences of their premature professional incorporation into patient care in a pandemic situation.

Methods

A descriptive phenomenology research study was conducted. Data were collected in two phases: 1) Two focus groups and 2) Ten in-depth individual semi-structured interviews between July and August 2021.

Results

Twenty-two Nursing students from a Madrid University School of Nursing participated. All worked in COVID hospitalization units, 6 in intensive care units. Four main categories were identified. Student-professional nurse transition, Learning, Hospital integration and Emotions.

Conclusion

Despite all the fears and negative emotions, the nursing students do not regret the decision to accept a contract to work as a healthcare professional in the COVID-19 pandemic. They feel that the pandemic has allowed them to see life from another perspective and with other priorities, strengthening their vocation to nursing.

Details

Title
Challenge, fear and pride: nursing students working as nurses in COVID-19 care units
Author
Gómez-Moreno, Cristina 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Eva García-Carpintero Blas 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Lázaro, Pablo 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Vélez-Vélez, Esperanza 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Gregorio Jesús Alcalá-Albert 3   VIAFID ORCID Logo 

1  Fundación Jiménez Díaz School of Nursing of Madrid, Autonomous University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain 
2  Health Research Department Independent Health Services Researcher, Madrid, Spain 
3  Nursing Department, Alfonso X El Sabio University, School of Medicine, Madrid, Spain 
Publication year
2022
Publication date
Dec 2022
Publisher
Taylor & Francis Ltd.
ISSN
17482623
e-ISSN
17482631
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1080/17482631.2022.2100611
ProQuest document ID
2736495278
Copyright
© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.