Abstract:

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the difficulties experienced by first-year nursing students, who were isolated at home during the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey and observed the process from home, and their perceptions and thoughts regarding the nursing profession. Method: The study used a qualitative research design. The sample of the study consisted of a total of 16 first-year nursing students who were enrolled at a foundation university and voluntarily participated in the study. The responses of the students were assessed with content analysis by considering the frequency of the comments, the number of participants who made the same comments, the number of participants who used the same words, what the responder wants to say, and the originality of the response. Results: As a result of the content analysis, five main themes, namely problems experienced during COVID-19 pandemic, coping with problems, increased awareness, perception of the nursing profession, and making friends with COVID-19, and eleven sub-themes were obtained. Conclusion: The first-year nursing students were initially found to experience mental and social problems during the pandemic process. However, it turned out that they gained experience in positive thinking to cope with these problems and that their feelings and thoughts towards their profession were positively affected.

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