Nursing students’ work experience based perceptions of “being a good nurse”

Abstract

Aim: To reveal and describe nursing students’ work experience based perceptions of “being a good nurse”. Design: This study was implemented using a descriptive qualitative design. Methods: Data were collected in the format of unstructured individual narrative-based written reflections, analyzed by applying inductive manifest qualitative content analysis. The sample consisted of 110 final year nursing students from five different universities of applied sciences in five Lithuanian regions. Results: Nursing students’ perceptions of “being a good nurse” derived from their work experience throughout their courses, and relate to nurses’ competence, professional features and values, and the implementation of their professional mission. These qualities are fluid and interrelated, reflecting nurses as individuals, as members of the nursing profession, of certain health care organizations, and as members of society. Conclusion: “Being a good nurse” is an indeterminable concept. Nursing students derive their understanding of it from the work practices they encounter, a basis from which they observe, reflect and learn. The research outcomes demonstrate the need for moral education and development of practical intelligence for nursing students, which will encourage them to strive to become “good nurses.