Purpose: This study was done to identify changes in the image of the nurse for student nurses before and after their first clinical experience.
Method: The participants were 108 nursing students who had not had any clinical experience. All participants had their first, clinical experience for 1 week, and the image of the nurse was measured before and after the clinical experience.
Result:
1) Before the first clinical experience, the scores on the image of the nurse that was the highest for the student nurses was in the professional dimension, followed by traditional, personal, and social in that order. After the clinical experience, the score on the image of the nurse was still the highest in the professional dimension, but this time, it was followed by personal, traditional and social dimension in that order.
2) Difference in the image of the nurse before and after the clinical experience showed statistical significance. The factors influencing this change were the degree of satisfaction with their major, whether the students had ever been hospitalized, and the type of wards where they had their clinical experience.
Conclusion: In summary, the first clinical experience should be ideal in order to promote the image of the nurse. Therefore an improvement in the environment for clinical experience is important.
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