Experiences of Nursing Instructors Related to Safety Issues Using Students as Practice Models in Laboratories: A Focus Group Study

Aim: Nursing school students perform invasive (i.e., injection, venipuncture) and/or non-invasive procedures (i.e., giving a bed bath and back massage) on each other to master these skills, and nursing instructors reported related safety issues. This study aimed to explore nursing instructors’ experiences concerning their students’ psychological and physical safety when using students as practice models in nursing skills laboratories. Methods: A qualitative design using focus group interviews and thematic analysis was employed. Two semi-structured focus group interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of eight instructors with experience in teaching nursing skills in laboratories. This study was evaluated by the Institutional Review Board at Eulji University (EU18-51) in the Republic of Korea. Results: Three main themes emerged to describe nursing instructors’ safety-related experiences when using students as practice models in nursing skills laboratories: (1) a dilemma between the experimental learning of students and the need to keep students safe, (2) perception related to psychological safety, and (3) an inadequate safety reporting system. Conclusions: When instructors consider using students’ bodies to practice nursing skills, they experience a dilemma between the students’ experimental learning and the need to keep them safe. Thus, methods to maximize student learning and student safety guidelines should be developed.