Clinical Field and Alternative Clinical Practice Experience in a Pandemic Situation of Nursing Students Who Have Experienced Clinical Practice before COVID-19

Abstract

This study aimed to understand the experiences of nursing students who experienced clinical practice before the outbreak of COVID-19 on clinical field practice and alternative clinical practice adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic. A phenomenological study was conducted on 14 graduates who experienced clinical field practice and alternative clinical practice during a pandemic. Data were collected using individual in-depth interviews that were semi-structured. Data were analyzed according to Colaizzi’s procedure. As a result of data analysis, five themes and 17 sub-themes were selected. The five themes were: alienation during the process of clinical practice change, regret caused by alternative clinical practice, alternative clinical practice as a supplementary measure, difficulties due to COVID-19, non-replaceable clinical field practice. It is necessary to consider using alternative clinical practices to complement the clinical setting and improve the quality of clinical practice in the post-corona era. To this end, it is necessary to supplement the disadvantages of alternative clinical practice, such as reduced concentration and lack of sense of presence, by applying integrated education using Edutech.