Abstract:

Background: The clinical learning environment is an interactive network of forces within the clinical setting that influence the students’ clinical learning outcomes. However, the clinical learning environment is often complex and unpredictable, and may pose various challenges for nursing students. These challenges may affect their academic achievements and learning outcomes, such as their grades, skills, knowledge, and attitudes. Therefore, it was important to determine the challenges faced by undergraduate nursing students in their clinical learning environment, and to investigate the contributing factors that influence these challenges on their learning and performance outcomes.

Methods: A cross-sectional design was employed to survey 120 undergraduate nursing students from CUHAS in their third and fourth years of the BScN program. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire administered via Google Forms. The collected data were then imported into SPSS version 25 for cleaning, coding, and analysis. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the demographic characteristics and challenges faced by the students, while inferential statistics were used to assess the impact of these challenges on academic and clinical performance.

Results: The study surveyed 120 undergraduate nursing students, 71 (59.2%) females and 49 (40.8%) males. Most participants were in their fourth year (65%), while the rest were in their third year (35%). Many students (25.8%) were assigned to multiple wards, including Medical, Surgical, Pediatric, Maternity, Emergency, and Intensive Care. Additionally, 58.3% had completed four clinical rotations. The study identified several challenges, including insufficient supervision (18.4%), negative staff attitudes (15.9%), limited practice opportunities (14.2%), and inadequate learning resources (10%). These challenges significantly affected students' academic performance, with 22.5% reporting an impact on theoretical course grades, 31.7% on practical course performance, 31.6% indicated difficulties in achieving clinical learning objectives, and 34.2% reported a negative impact on their overall learning experience.

Conclusion and Recommendations: The findings underscore the need for improved supervision, better resource allocation, and enhanced support from clinical staff to create a more conducive learning environment for nursing students. Structured orientation programs and effective communication channels are recommended to address these challenges. Further longitudinal studies are needed to explore the long-term effects of these interventions on nursing education.