Nursing students’ challenges and experiences of undergoing clinical rotation program during coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) contagion which has resulted in millions of casualties worldwide has been bringing pressure and challenges to nursing students undergoing clinical rotation programs. In Indonesia, several schools of nursing have issued policies to keep facilitating clinical rotation education in the hospital. This policy identified several challenges that the students should face. AIM: This study aimed to explore nursing students’ challenges and experiences undergoing clinical rotation programs during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: A qualitative descriptive approach to content analysis was employed. The study participants were 31 nursing students who undergo clinical rotation. These participants were purposefully chosen to use criteria. Participants’ age ranged from 23 to 25 years and has passed both the intensive care unit and intensive cardiovascular care unit stage. Data were collected through focus group discussion which was carried out 4 times and each FGD lasted for 90–120 min then analyzed using content analysis method that includes five major segments: Introduction, coding, theme creation, thematic classification, and reporting. RESULTS: The themes from the study included negative emotion in the initial stage, positive emotions, a competency that difficult to achieve, and strategies for coping and self-care. CONCLUSION: Constructive emotion coping strategy is believed to assist students in dealing with challenges amid the clinical rotation program. Implementation of clinical rotation learning for nursing students requires preparation from various aspects, such as student readiness, clinical supervisors, and support from academic institutions.