Exploring the Relationship Between Stress and Satisfaction During Clinical Training Among Respiratory Therapy Students: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Survey

BACKGROUND: Although clinical training is an important component of healthcare education, it is nevertheless a significant source of stress for students. There is limited information on stress and satisfaction perceived by clinical-level undergraduate students studying respiratory therapy (RT) in Saudi Arabia. METHODS: A descriptive, cross-sectional study design with an online questionnaire was employed to conduct this study. Data collection occurred during the academic year 2022–2023 among RT students throughout Saudi Arabia. Patricians responded to demographic questions, the Students Stress Scale and Students Professional Satisfaction questionnaires. Descriptive, inferential, and correlational statistics were used to analyze the collected responses. RESULTS: A total of 1001 undergraduate RT students completed the online survey. RT students and interns had an overall moderate to high stress level (mean (SD); 3.55 (0.49)), while satisfaction was perceived as mild to moderate (mean (SD): 2.56 (0.65)). In addition, 38% of the study participants have considered quitting the RT program. Female students showed higher stress levels in the following domains: inadequate knowledge and training, adverse and embarrassing experiences, clinical supervision, patients’ pain, and Education–reality conflict (p<0.005) compared to male students. Additionally, students who considered quitting the RT program revealed higher stress levels in all domains (p<0.005). There were negative correlations between satisfaction and stress domains: inadequate knowledge and training (r = −0.32; p = 0.001), adverse and embarrassing experience (r = −0.31; p = 0.025), close supervision (r = −0.24; p = 0.001), insufficient hospital resources (r = −0.30; p 0.002), patients’ pain and suffering (r = 0.28; p = 0.04), and education – reality conflict (r = −0.30; p = 0.001). CONCLUSION: During clinical training, respiratory therapy students experience moderate to high-stress levels and low satisfaction. There need to be tailored interventions to reduce stress and intention to quit and increase students’ clinical experience satisfaction.