Exploring Nursing Students’ First Experiences Providing Wound and Ostomy Care to Patients: A Qualitative Study

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND Undergraduate nursing students experience significant differences between practice with models, manikins, or simulation applications and real patients in a clinical setting. Students’ experiences applying their theoretical knowledge to real patient-care practices are little understood. OBJECTIVE To determine the experiences of nursing students in providing skin, chronic wound, and ostomy care to real patients for the first time in a clinical setting within the content of the Ostomy and Wound Care Nursing Track Program (OWCNTP) and to define factors affecting this program. METHODS The research was conducted qualitatively using the individual critical incident technique, and 17 senior undergraduate nursing students enrolled in the Nursing OWCNTP were selected using a simple random sampling method. In the classroom setting, individual face-to-face interviews were conducted using the critical incident technique. Data were analyzed with inductive content analysis. RESULTS The research found that students experience genuine caregiving in putting their experiences from the Track Program into practice with real patients in a clinical setting. Three main themes were identified: experiencing real patient care in a clinical setting, being a competent student, and being a novice student. CONCLUSIONS The study found that nursing students enrolled in the OWCNTP could apply their theoretical knowledge to care for real patients in clinical settings. Therefore, it is recommended that these programs be integrated into nursing curricula.