Anxiety Levels Among Undergraduate Nursing Students Prior to their First Clinical Placement in Govt. Colleges of Nursing, Peshawar

Abstract

Introduction: The clinical learning environment is a complex social entity that influences student competency within the clinical setting. Anxiety contributes to a student’s performance in the clinical setting because it initiates the fight-or-flight response leading to a positive or negative outcome. Aim: The study was aimed to assess the level of anxiety among nursing students during the initial clinical experience. Methodology: A non-experimental descriptive survey was adopted for the study. The sample of the study consists of 132 final year nursing students who were selected using a convenient sample technique. Demographic Performa and Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale were used to collect the data. Results: Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. The analysis revealed that 81.1% of the students were having a normal range of anxiety whereas while (15.9%) had experienced mild to moderate anxiety levels, and only (3%) had severe anxiety, with a Mean ±SD of (1.22±0.49).  The Chi-square test showed that no significant association was found between anxiety and selected demographic variables. Conclusion: The findings revealed that the teaching and training given to the students before the clinical experience was adequate and appropriate.