Nursing Students' Work Experience Based Perceptions of "Being a Good Nurse"

Abstract

Aim: To reveal and describe nursing students' work experience based perceptions of "being a good nurse". Design: This study was implemented using a descriptive qualitative design. Methods: Data were collected in the format of unstructured individual narrative-based written reflections, analyzed by applying inductive manifest qualitative content analysis. The sample consisted of 110 final year nursing students from five different universities of applied sciences in five Lithuanian regions. Results: Nursing students' perceptions of "being a good nurse" derived from their work experience throughout their courses, and relate to nurses' competence, professional features and values, and the implementation of their professional mission. These qualities are fluid and interrelated, reflecting nurses as individuals, as members of the nursing profession, of certain health care organizations, and as members of society. Conclusion: "Being a good nurse" is an indeterminable concept. Nursing students derive their understanding of it from the work practices they encounter, a basis from which they observe, reflect and learn. The research outcomes demonstrate the need for moral education and development of practical intelligence for nursing students, which will encourage them to strive to become "goodˮ nurses.

Facilitating family‐focused Care of Older adults living in Long‐Term Care in Canada during Restricted Visiting due to COVID‐19

“…We acknowledge that by presenting the nurses as "exemplary" there is the potential that we are building on expectations that nurses (the majority of whom are female) are supposed to go beyond what is reasonably required to meet the needs of others. While some literature on being a "good nurse" promotes self-lessness and making personal sacrifices for resident well-being (Bagdonaitė-Stelmokienė & Žydžiūnaitė, 2017), this is not in keeping with our views. We caution that nurses should not be expected (by their employers or by themselves) to labour under exploitative conditions without appropriate resources and voice.…”