2023 Volume 14 Issue 1 Pages 1_61-1_67
In this study, we identified the difficulties that university graduates new to the nursing profession faced in the workplace in 2020 in light of the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Nine graduates responded to a questionnaire, and three of them were interviewed to provide specific details on items that they indicated as difficulties in the questionnaire.
The results of a simple tabulation of the questionnaire revealed that of the 104 items, “providing clear explanations to patients and families and obtaining their consent,” “considering how to prioritize nursing care for multiple patients,” and “coordinating assigned tasks so that they can be carried out within a given time frame” were items most of the respondents (seven out of nine) found difficult. The following most commonly identified difficulties selected by six of the nine respondents included: “understanding the needs of patients from physical, psychological, and social perspectives” and “understanding the purpose of nursing records and accurately preparing nursing records.” The contents of the interview summaries included the [inability to explain the patient’s condition to family members who cannot visit the patient due to the COVID-19 pandemic] and other challenges related to visitation restrictions due to the pandemic.
The results suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic may have made communication with patients and their families more difficult. On the other hand, regardless of the COVID-19 pandemic, the respondents tended to experience difficulties in managing nursing care for multiple patients and in performing their duties within a certain time frame. We believe that it is important when producing educational content to take into account the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and that the “Integration Practicum,” a course that aims to improve comprehensive nursing practice skills, including providing care for multiple patients, should be enhanced.
