The Physical Examination Experience of Nursing Students: A Qualitative Study

Authors : Dilara Kunter, Nurdan Gezer

Pages : 108-117

Doi:10.31067/acusaglik.833035

View : 28 | Download : 9

Publication Date : 2020-12-16

Article Type : Research

Abstract :Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the experience of nursing students in physical examination. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted with a total of 10 students studying in a nursing faculty and taking a physical examination course. The data were collected using a semi-structured interview form consisting of 11 questions evaluating students’ experiences in physical examination. Results: In our study, most of the students defined physical examination as "evaluation of lung sounds” and "evaluation of bowel sounds”. They stated that they pay attention to situations such as explaining and introducing the process before the examination, protecting the privacy and they are not sufficient in physical examination skills and they did not perform a full physical examination before. They reported that they were good at edema assessment, bowel and lung sound listening skills, but bad in the ability to know how to contact the patient. All of the students stated that the gender difference increased the shyness of the patients. Most of the students reported that physical examination works. In the feedback about the course, most of the students suggested that they did not feel theoretically incomplete but they could not apply the theory to practice. In order to solve this problem, they suggested "role play” and "practice on model”. Conclusion: It was seen that the majority of the students experienced various problems related to physical examination and they made some suggestions for them.
Keywords : Physical examination, nursing student, skill, qualitative research