Culture Shock: A Prospect for the Clinical Duties of Third-Year Students from Lorma Colleges

Ianne Mikaela Sandoval, Lorma Colleges, Phillipines

This research paper addresses the significant changes in the clinical duties of third-year student nurses of Lorma Colleges - Carlatan, City of San Fernando, La Union — after the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic. The primary objective of this study is to observe the varied experiences of student nurses throughout their clinical duties to determine how they view the pandemic going on, how it affects their decision to pursue a nursing career, and determining their coping mechanisms to face the challenges they have encountered during this clinical experience. To achieve this, semi-structured interviews are conducted with student nurses, allowing for an exploration of their perceptions regarding their clinical duties.

The study’s findings reveal that student nurses recognized the difference of clinical duties before and after the pandemic, and how it limited them from utilizing the theoretical knowledge they had during their online classes. Various experiences were highlighted — student nurses experiencing culture shock within the hospital setting, getting nervous during the period, and applying their theoretical knowledge into practice. Challenges were also identified, such as their lack of knowledge and experience, exhaustion, and the discouragement they faced along the way. This study has also emphasized the importance of coping mechanisms for student nurses’ challenges — interpersonal communication, passion, acceptance, and optimism. This study has broad results for improving clinical duties and ensuring a much better education system is implemented to address the mentioned barriers. Student nurses, clinical instructors, political leaders, and educational institutions can collaborate to develop meaningful strategies to enhance these clinical duties, encouraging more students to pursue nursing.