Journal of North Khorasan

Background and objective: Since nursing students cannot avoid stressors in clinical setting, supporting and guiding students to reduce stress is a priority for nursing educators. This study aimed to investigate stress and coping strategies in clinical education of nursing students of North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences in 2013. Materials & Methods: This was an analytical cross-sectional study. Study population was 81nursing students. Data was collected using the questionnaires, including demographic, occupational stress, and coping with stressful situations. Data were analyzed using SPSS software. Results: Of 81 participants, 30.9% (25 students) were male, and 69.1% (56 students) female. Based on existing domains, 30.9% were grouped in problem- solving, 18.5% in excitement-based, 4.9% in avoidance, 13.6% in distraction, 24.7% in social engagement. The mean of stress level was 2.94±0.35. The greatest sources of stress were biological agents (38.3%) and workload (14.8%). The Pearson correlation test showed a direct relationship between occupational stress and excitement in coping strategies (r=0.244, p=0.028). Conclusion: Our findings indicated that nursing students experience a moderate level of clinical setting. Problem oriented style was the dominant strategy among nursing students in coping with stress, and avoidance had minimal application. The findings of this study have a considerable impact to determine the needs of students and enhance learning in clinical settings.