Nursing Students' Perceptions of Skills Learning: A Phenomenological Study.

Background: Deliberate practice (DP) and cognitive load theory have renewed educators' interest in effective psychomotor skills teaching.

Purpose: The purpose of this research was to explore how prelicensure nursing students learned psychomotor skills.

Methods: Nine senior nursing students participated in this phenomenological study to capture how they experienced learning nursing skills. Colaizzi's method was used to analyze in-depth interviews of open-ended questions.

Results: Six themes emerged: (a) the umbrella of emotion, (b) practice, (c) learning through technology, (d) fidelity affects learning, (e) teaching matters, and (f) importance of peers. Students found creative ways to learn nursing skills. Research findings contributed to a greater understanding of student experiences in gaining competency in nursing skills.

Conclusions: Participants used aspects of DP, cognitive load theory, and technology to learn skills. These findings provide current information to nurse educators about skills learning and recommendations for effective skills teaching.