Low interest in clinical practicum placement is associated with increased stress in nursing students in Taiwan: A cross-sectional survey study

Background: Nursing students often find themselves in a highly competitive environment, and stress is a commonly acknowledged experience in nursing students. Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore factors, particularly an interest in nursing and in clinical practicum placement, associated with stress in Taiwanese nursing students. Design: Cross-sectional survey study. Settings: A nursing college in central Taiwan and a university in eastern Taiwan. Participants: 814 nursing students. Methods: Level of stress of the participants was measured using the 43-items Stressors in Nursing Students (SINS) scale, which was translated into a traditional Chinese version (TC-SINS). Simple and multiple linear regression analyses were used to evaluate factors significantly associated with stress. Results: A total of 814 nursing students completed the questionnaire with a return rate of 83.6%. The mean age of the participants was 18.9 years and 94.8% was female. Regarding the students' interest in nursing, 2.6% expressed that they strongly or somewhat disagree. In addition, regarding the students' interest in clinical practicum placement, 7.2% indicated that they strongly or somewhat disagree. Results from multiple regression analysis showed that students who expressed somewhat or strong disagreement to interest in clinical practicum placement were significantly associated with a higher level of stress. Of the various strategies for stress relief, listen to music (75.2%) was the most popular choice, followed by talk to a friend (72.3%), and catch up on sleep (61.3%). A third of the participants used three strategies for stress relief. Conclusions: Low interest in clinical practicum placement was associated with increased stress levels in nursing students in Taiwan. Future studies should explore the underlying reasons for stress induced by clinical practicum placement, and possible solutions for stress reduction in nursing students.