Comparación de la ansiedad en el estudiante de Grado de Enfermería entre diferentes servicios de prácticas asistenciales

Abstract

Objective:
To compare anxiety levels in fourth-year nursing students in different clinical practice services: "Emergency-Emergency", "Intensive Care", "Oncology" and "Primary Care". As well as analysing whether the age of the students could influence their anxiety levels.
Methodology:
Observational, longitudinal and prospective study. Eighty-five students participated. Anxiety levels were assessed at three points during the clinical practice cycle: at the beginning, during and at the end. The Trait-State Anxiety Inventory (STAI) was used to measure anxiety at each time point.
Results:
Statistically significant differences in anxiety levels were observed between "Emergency-Emergency" and "Primary Care" services. In the "Emergency-Emergency" setting, a progressive increase in state anxiety was perceived, while in "Primary Care" a decrease in levels of trait anxiety was recorded throughout the internship cycle.
A moderate and significant inverse relationship could be established between the age of the students and their anxiety levels in the group as a whole. Furthermore, this relationship was also evident in the "Emergency-Emergency" and "Primary Care" settings.
Conclusions:
The study reveals that anxiety levels in nursing students vary according to the clinical setting. "Emergency-Emergency' generated a progressive increase in anxiety, whereas 'Primary Care' appeared to act as a protective environment for anxiety. Age also played an important role, with younger students showing higher levels of anxiety overall and specifically in the "Emergency-Emergency" and "Primary Care" settings.