Coping strategies of nursing students for dealing with stress in clinical setting: A qualitative study

BACKGROUND: Nursing students in the clinical setting experience a high level of stress. The understanding of people involved in nursing education, from coping strategies of nursing students with clinical stress, is highly important for any kind of planning in this field OBJECTIVE: To explore the coping strategies of Iranian nursing students with stress in a clinical setting. METHODS: This qualitative content analysis study was carried out with twenty nursing students who were selected using purposive sampling at the Razi nursing and midwifery school in Kerman, in Iran during a ten-month period in 2016. Data were collected using semi-structured face to face interviews, and analyzed through Graneheim and Lundman’s qualitative content analysis method. RESULTS: “Seeking well-being” as the main theme and three categories of “Active confrontation with stress”, “mastering the mind and body” and “avoidance” were obtained from data analysis. CONCLUSION: The exploration of nursing students’ experiences of coping with clinical stressors, increases students’ awareness of their coping strategy. The academic authorities in recognizing the coping strategies of students with stress in clinical setting, can provide necessary training on effective coping strategies for students.