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Introduction: Clinical training allows nursing students to acquire and strengthen their psychomotor abilities, which is an important component of nursing education. The clinical components of nursing training programs were much more demanding than the academic ones. Purposes: The purpose of this study was to examine sources of stress-related and coping behaviors during first clinical training among nursing students in the Arab American University. Methods: The study was cross-sectional and conducted with a convenience sample of 266 participants of nursing students. Data collection was performed by "Perceived Stress Scale and the Coping Behavior Inventory." The data were analyzed by using the descriptive, that is, frequency and percentage, mean, and standard deviation. Results: The results revealed that the perceived stress mean was 41.2 (SD = 19.5). The main stressors were taking care of the patients (M = 11.4 ± 0.85) and teachers and nursing staff (M = 8.32 ± 5.3). Coping behaviors mean was (M = 29.0 ± 15.2). The main coping behavior was problem-solving (M = 9.5 ± 5.6). Conclusion: The study confirmed that students perceived moderate levels of stress in their first clinical training, and the most common sources of stress were taking care of the patients and teachers and nursing staff. However, the main coping behavior was problem-solving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Newly graduating nurses should be able to enter clinical practice as safe, accurate, competent, and compassionate professionals in health care settings that necessitate them to be learners who can easily get familiar with a broad diversity of clinical practice settings. Purposes: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of high-fidelity simulation experiences on self-satisfaction and self-confidence among the pediatric nursing students. Methods: A quasi-experimental design, post-test, was carried out through the recruitment of a convenience sample of 150 nursing students from Arab American University. The students were randomly assigned to the study (n = 75) or control (n = 75) groups. Data were collected using learner satisfaction and self-confidence scales. Results: The results of the post-test revealed that there was a significant difference between both groups in self-satisfaction (t (148) = 11.14, P <.001) and self-confidence (t (148) = 13.04, P <.001). The mean score of self-satisfaction for the study group (22.45 ± 2.27) was higher than control group (16.80 ± 3.76). Also, the study group' mean self-confidence score (35.72 ± 3.49) was higher than the control group (27.28 ± 4.39). Conclusion: High-fidelity simulation was confirmed to be an helpful tool to keep an effective and safe learning method for pediatric nursing students, thus increasing their satisfaction and confidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Healthcare professionals particularly nurses should be professionally prepared with knowledge about the standards of palliative care and their roles in providing palliative care. Nurses' knowledge about palliative care and influencing factors has not been examined adequately in Arab countries including Palestine. Thus, this study aimed to assess the adequacy of knowledge level and influencing factors (socio-demographic) about palliative care among nurses in West Bank/ Palestine. Methods : A descriptive-correlational design was utilized. A cluster random sampling method was applied to select 12 hospitals from the three regions in West Bank. Then, four hospitals were selected from each region using a simple random method. All registered nurses working in critical care units and medical and surgical wards in the selected hospitals were recruited. The sample consists of 424 registered nurses and data were collected using Palliative Care Quiz for Nursing (PCQN). Results : The Findings revealed that nurses' level of knowledge about palliative care was low/inadequate (M = 7.75, SD = 2.96). Knowledge about palliative care was influenced by age (B = −.106; p < 0.05), gender (B = −.223; p < 0.001), and hospital ward (B = −.597; p < 0.001), in which younger nurses, females, and those who work in critical care units reported higher levels of knowledge about palliative care. Conclusions : Findings of this study emphasized the need for developing educational and training courses, seminars, and workshops on palliative care to increase nurses' knowledge in order to enhance the quality of patient care. Also, policymakers should develop national strategic plans and policies regarding palliative care and apply these plans in all hospitals in West Bank/ Palestine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Understanding the needs of families of hospital patients, especially those in intensive care units is key to providing comprehensive, effective support. The aim of this study is to determine the needs of families of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) patients in four Palestinian hospitals. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional, analytic study including 240 participants selected using convenience sampling. Data was obtained from participants from September 2016 to April 2018. The Critical Care Family Needs Inventory (CCFNI) was distributed to examine their needs. Descriptive analysis, t-tests, and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were conducted to analyze relationships between demographic characteristics of respondents and their needs. Differences were considered significant at p < 0.05. Results: The results revealed that the assurance domain was the most important, but participants had some unmet needs from the support domain. Parents reported higher levels of importance of all needs than other types of relatives of patients. In addition, participants with a higher level of education reported a significantly higher level of importance in the dimensions of assurance (F3,236 = 2.85, p = 0.038), proximity (F3,236 = 4.36, p = 0.006), and support (F3,236 = 4.13, p = 0.007). Also, married participants had a higher need for all dimensions. Family members of patients who stayed more than 7 days had higher needs for support (F2,237 = 3.39, p = 0.035) and comfort (F2,237 = 3.92, p = 0.021). Conclusions: Family members of ICU patients have certain unmet needs, which require attention from healthcare professionals and administration in Palestinian hospitals. In addition, sociodemographic variables influence family member needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Intensive care units are considered stressful and emotionally risky situations by both professionals and patients and their families. The purpose was to assess the effect of progressive muscle relaxation exercise on anxiety among nursing students in intensive care units prior to clinical training., Method: A randomized, controlled study design was used. The study composed of 80 nursing students from Arab American University. For 2 weeks, the experimental group's 40 participants were taught progressive muscle relaxation exercises to help with anxiety control, whereas the control group's 40 participants received no training., Results: The results revealed that the experimental group was capable of reducing the anxiety ( p  < 0.05). Also, the experimental group had les anxiety (1.15 ± SD = 0.43) compared with the control group (2.83 ± SD = 0.40)., Conclusion: The current study's findings confirmed the effect of progressive muscle relaxation exercise (PMRE) on anxiety reduction in intensive care units during clinical training among nursing students., Competing Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article., (© The Author(s) 2023.)

In an emergency, making the correct decision is vital. It is a necessary element of professional nursing care, and the ability of nurses to make successful clinical decisions is the most critical element influencing care quality. The purpose of this study was to assess the factors influencing nurses' clinical decision-making in the emergency department of Palestinan hospitals. A cross-sectional study was targeted at all nurses working in emergency departments at the Palestinian hospitals. The study was completed with 227 nurses, and collecting data was performed with the Clinical Decision Making in Nursing Scale. Results of the study revealed that the average score for the total clinical decision-making score was 3.3 (SD = 0.23). The subscales of clinical decision making were "search for alternatives or options," "canvassing of objectives and values," "evaluation and reevaluation of consequences," and "search for information and unbiased assimilation of new information." Furthermore, multiple linear regression analysis revealed that degree and work hours accounted for 11.7% of the variance in clinical decision-making. The study confirmed the average score for clinical decision-making was slightly higher than the average score. Also, it approved that nursing degree and work hours were predictors of clinical decision-making among nurses in emergency departments.

The coronavirus infection COVID-19 has been a risk to world health, particularly for individuals who are vulnerable to it. Critical care nurses have described experiencing extremely high levels of stress under these struggling conditions. This study aimed to assess the relationship between stress and resilience of intensive care unit nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 227 nurses who are working in the intensive care units in the West Bank hospitals, Palestine. Data collection utilized the Nursing Stress Scale (NSS) and the Brief Resilient Coping Scale (BRCS). Two hundred twenty-seven intensive care nurses completed the questionnaire; (61.2%) were males, and (81.5%) had documented COVID-19 infection among their friends, family, or coworkers. Most intensive care nurses reported high levels of stress (105.9 ± 11.9), but low levels of resilience (11.0 ± 4.3). There was a moderate negative correlation between nurses' stress and their resilience ( P  < .05) and a small to moderate negative correlation between nurses' stress sub-scales and resilience ( P  < .05). Also, the results revealed a statistically significant difference between the stress score mean and the nurses who had documented COVID-19 infection among their friends, family, or coworkers ( P  < .05), and between the resilience mean score and the nurses' gender ( P  < .05). During the COVID-19 outbreak, intensive care nurses' stress levels were high, and their resilience was low. Thus, controlling nurses' stress levels and identifying possible stress sources related to the COVID-19 pandemic are important to maintain patients' safety and improve the quality of care.

The study is to examine the effect of progressive muscle relaxation exercise on anxiety of nursing students during their initial clinical experience. A quasi-experimental, pre-post study was carried out in the Arab American University. A convenience sample consists of 90 first-year nursing students were chosen. A progressive muscle relaxation exercise for five days per week was conducted on one group of nursing students. Students' anxiety was measured by S-anxiety scale (STAI Form Y-1) at pre and post the intervention. The severity of anxiety reduction was greater post the exercise (t (89) = 30.783, P = .001).