[Facing, accepting, growing and expecting: the practical experience of nursing students during their first clinical practice].

Background: Clinical practice experiences, while important, can be highly stressful for nursing students and have a deep effect on their subsequent professional development.

Purpose: This study explored nursing student experiences during their first clinical practice.

Methods: The study used exploratory and descriptive research methodologies, and researchers selected a phenomenological approach to analysis. Nine nursing students described experiences centered on their first clinical practices using daily dairies and assignments. Transcripts were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis.

Results: Four major themes emerged from the data, including: (1) Joining an exciting and intimidating journey in which participants anticipated a precious learning opportunity while fearing failure; (2) Identifying professional role models in which participants learned about nursing content from nursing staff and through step by step instruction from teachers; (3) Growing into caring relationships in which participants increasingly realized the importance of communication, gave empathy and caring to patients, and discovered that patients are the best teachers; and (4) Insight into self-professional capacity and the expectation of their future learning in which participants learned from actual experience, evaluated self-performance and encouraged themselves. Such facilitated self-improvement and instilled the learning necessary to advance to the next stage.

Conclusion: Nursing student clinical practice experiences may be used to both advance academic studies and enhance understanding of student feelings, difficulties and experiences. Such can assist nursing students to gain greater positive experiences in their profession.