Relationship among Stress, Coping Strategies, and Self-esteem in Nursing Students Taking Clinical Experience

간호대학생들의 임상실습 스트레스, 대처방식 및 자아존중감과의 관계

The study to identify the relationship among stress associated with clinical experience, coping strategies and self-esteem in nursing students and to provide basic information which is useful for nursing students' learning experience in clinical setting were surveyed using self-reported questionnaires. The findings were summarized : 1. Senior students showed a higher level of stress than junior students. A higher stress level was observed in the unsatisfied group, compared with the neutral group. By class and clinical schedule, students who followed the 3-week class and 3-week clinical schedule showed a higher level of stress than those who followed the 8-week class and 8-week clinical schedule. 2. Senior students had a higher mean coping strategy score than junior students. And the satisfied group showed higher self-esteem, compared with the neutral and unsatisfied group. 3. There was a positive correlation between stress associated with clinical learning experience and coping strategies. But a negative correlation was seen between stress and self-esteem in nursing students. 4. Nursing students used more coping mechanisms as their stress levels increased but showed low self-esteem. The results suggest the need for developing more effective teaching methods and strategies that could improve students' ability to solve problems and sustain their self-esteem even under a stressful circumstance.