Investigation of nursing students' emotional states toward challenging situations in clinical practice and metaphorical perceptions of the concept of a nurse

Aim: This study aims to determine nursing students' emotions toward the challenging situations they encounter in clinical practice and their metaphorical perceptions of the concept of a nurse. Background: Challenging situations in clinical practice negatively affect nursing students' perceptions of the nursing profession and their professional learning and development. Design: The study is based on quantitative, metaphorical and picture-drawing analysis. Methods: The quantitative and qualitative parts of it were conducted with 200 nursing students attending their first and second years in the 2021-2022 academic year. The Draw a Picture of a Cactus Test was carried out with 30 students in clinical practice. The data were collected using the "Sociodemographic Information Form" and the "Semi-structured Interview Form". Content analysis techniques, descriptive statistics, picture analysis and psychological tests were used to evaluate the data. The study was reported based on Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research (SRQR). Results: Nursing students involved in the study produced 37 metaphors related to the "concept of a nurse" and three most expressed ones were "mother, lifeguard and helper." The metaphors produced by nursing students were categorized under six roles: "caregiver, educator, supporter, researcher, administrator and therapeutic/ rehabilitator". The pictures drawn by the students about the challenging situations in clinical practice and the expressions they used were associated with self-centeredness (n=21), being attentive (n=19), aggression toward peers (n=13), low motivation (n=11) and need for protection (n=11). Nursing students experienced feelings of loneliness, passivity and anxiety when navigating difficult conditions in clinical practice. Conclusions: Metaphors and picture drawing allow a unique approach to the concept of nursing and nursing students' emotional states toward challenging situations in their clinical practice.