Background: This research aimed to analyse the psychological profile of nursing students and its relationship with the physiological anticipatory anxiety response at the earliest clinical practices; and to analyse the habituation response at the psychophysiological level of nursing students throughout their first clinical practices. Methods: 18 students of the first year of Nursing degree were studied in their first clinical stays. Their psychophysiological stress response was evaluated throughout the analysis of the autonomic modulation and their subjective perception to stress at the beginning and at the end of the stays. In addition, an inventory of psychological test was carried out to observe its association with the psychophysiological stress response. Results: The results showed that the students presented a large anticipatory anxiety response at the beginning of the stays, as well as an absence of a habituation process during the stay. It was also observed a positive relation between the loneliness perceived and the autonomic stress response. Conclusion: The clinical stays in the hospital performed by first year students of the nursing degree, did not produce the expected habituation response at psychophysiological level. Also, a higher perception of social isolation was significantly related with a higher objective (sympathetic modulation) and subjective (perceived stress) stress responses.

The aim of the present research was to analyze the autonomic stress response of nursing students in a nursing Objective Structured Clinical Evaluation (OSCE). We analyzed, in 41 s-year nursing degree students (20.1 ± 2.3 years), modifications in heart rate variability (HRV) to monitor the autonomic stress response before, during and after the 18 different scenarios of a complete OSCE. Heart rate mean response of nurse students was consistent with an anticipatory anxiety response at the beginning of the OSCE, showing a sympathetic nervous system activation, but HRV parameters show contradictory results. The most stressful OSCE station was the CPR maneuver, the stress response varying according to the station’s demands.

The aims of this study were to analyze the autonomic stress response of nurse degree students during a hospital clinical simulation and to analyze differences in the autonomic stress response of nurse degree students during a hospital clinical simulation depending on their psychological profile. We analyzed in 45 nurse students their psychological profile (purpose in life, coping flexibility, perceived stress, Framingham Type A Behavior, and personality) and the autonomic modulation by the heart rate variability in a hospital clinical simulation. Students presented decreased heart rate variability and different autonomic stress responses depending on the different psychological parameters evaluated. We concluded that a hospital clinical simulation produced a large sympathetic modulation of nurse students that was maintained during the entire clinical simulation. The autonomic response was modulated by the psychological profile of students, showing higher purpose in life, perceived stress, and neuroticism, presenting higher parasympathetic modulation.

The aim of the present research was to analyse the objective and subjective stress responses of students in a clinical case evaluation and the correlation with academic performance, as well as to analyse the differences in grade and difficulty perceptions between students and professors that designed the clinical case. A sample of 103 first-year students from a nursing degree was studied. In this sample, the objective stress was analysed by measuring the autonomic modulation (through the heart rate variability); moreover, the subjective stress was analysed using the SUDS scale. Furthermore, the difficulty perception and academic performance were measured using scales for both students and professors. The measures were taken before and after the clinical exams. A large subjective and objective stress response was observed at the beginning of the clinical case, and this response was related to a high academic performance perception. Upon completion of the clinical evaluation, both the stress response and the academic performance perception decreased. The professors and students presented different grade and difficulty perceptions concerning the clinical case.

No abstract