Abstract:

Objective: This study aimed to examine the anxiety and self-efficacy of nursing students who received hybrid education before and after their first clinical experience during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This study was performed in a cross-sectional design in the state university between November and December 2021. The sample of the study consisted of 106 students who started clinical practice for the first time. The research data were gathered in the first and last week of the clinical practice with the "State-Trait Anxiety Scale" and "General Self-Efficacy Scale" by online survey method. Wilcoxon Signed-ranks Test, Kruskall Wallis Test, Mann Whitney U Test, and Spearman correlation analysis were used to analyze the data. Results: It was determined that nursing students with hybrid education had moderate anxiety and self-efficacy in the first week of clinical practice and their state anxiety did not decrease at the end of clinical practice (p>0.05); however, their general self-efficacy and the sub-dimension scores of resilience and maintenance decreased (p=.024, p=.002, p=.000, respectively). Self-efficacy and academic achievement were negatively associated with the state of anxiety. Female students had iğler self-efficacy at the beginning of the clinical practice (p=.001). Conclusion: During COVID-19 pandemic, the anxiety of nursing students in the first clinical practice was moderate, and the perception of self-efficacy decreased. It is recommended that training and practices that reduce anxiety and improve the perception of self-efficacy, especially in nursing students going on their first clinical practice, should be carried out in collaboration with the clinic and university.

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