Insights into pressure injury prevention: Assessing the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of Palestinian nursing students.

AIM: To assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of Palestinian nursing students towards pressure injury prevention. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted with 455 nursing students recruited from Arab American University-Palestine, employing a total population sample. Data collection forms include socio-demographic information, the Pressure Ulcer Knowledge Assessment Tool, Attitude towards Pressure Ulcer Prevention Instrument and Pressure Injury Preventive Practices scale. RESULTS: The study found that students had a mean knowledge score of 54% (14.04/26), a positive attitude score of 75.8% (39.42/52), and demonstrated a fair level of practice 75.3% (30.12/40). Significant differences were observed in the Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice total scores, linked to academic year, clinical experience, and the number of attended departments during clinical training (p < 0.001). Additionally, weak but significant positive relationships were found between practice and attitude scores (r = 0.303, p < 0.001), practice and knowledge score (r = 0.211, p < 0.001), and a moderate positive significant relationship between knowledge and attitude scores (r = 0.567, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The study revealed insufficient knowledge, positive attitudes, and somewhat unsafe practices among nursing students regarding pressure injury prevention. It highlights the need for specific revisions in the nursing curriculum. Improvements can be achieved through detailed coverage in classrooms and laboratories, integrating simulation methods. Additionally, ensuring that students gain adequate experiences in clinical units, with a specific emphasis on pressure injury prevention, is crucial for improving students' capability and contribute to better pressure injury management.

Evaluation of Clinical Competence and Job Satisfaction and Their Related Factors Among Emergency Nurses in Palestinian Hospitals.

Introduction: Nurses are responsible for providing primary care to millions of patients, and emergency nurses serve on the frontline in providing care for mildly to severely critically ill patients. Objectives: This study aims to assess and evaluate the clinical competence and its related factors among emergency nurses in Palestinian hospitals. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 170 nurses working in the emergency units of hospitals in the West Bank, Palestine. Data collection utilized the Nurse Competence Scale, and the Job Satisfaction Scale. Results: The results showed that only 33(19.4%) of the participants exhibited a good level of clinical competence, with none reaching the very good level. Among them, the highest proportion of good level 60 (35.3%) was in the helping role, while the lowest 38 (22.4%) was in ensuring quality. About 35% of nurses reported very low or low job satisfaction, while 58% had high or very high job satisfaction. Additionally, the results revealed a statistically significant relationship between clinical competence and job satisfaction (P < 0.05). Both clinical competence and job satisfaction were positively correlated with age and experience. Conclusion: The study found a significant relationship between demographic characteristics (e.g., education, experience, and marital status) and clinical competency among emergency nurses. Notably, less than half of the participants demonstrated good clinical competency, with none reaching a very good level. The highest scores were observed in the helping role domain, while the lowest were in the ensuring quality domain. Furthermore, clinical competence was found to be significantly associated with job satisfaction. Consequently, enhancing nurses' clinical competency will lead to an improvement in the quality of patient care.

Sources of Stress and Coping Behaviors among Nursing Students Throughout Their First Clinical Training.

Introduction: Clinical training allows nursing students to acquire and strengthen their psychomotor abilities, which is an important component of nursing education. The clinical components of nursing training programs were much more demanding than the academic ones. Purposes: The purpose of this study was to examine sources of stress-related and coping behaviors during first clinical training among nursing students in the Arab American University. Methods: The study was cross-sectional and conducted with a convenience sample of 266 participants of nursing students. Data collection was performed by "Perceived Stress Scale and the Coping Behavior Inventory." The data were analyzed by using the descriptive, that is, frequency and percentage, mean, and standard deviation. Results: The results revealed that the perceived stress mean was 41.2 (SD = 19.5). The main stressors were taking care of the patients (M = 11.4 ± 0.85) and teachers and nursing staff (M = 8.32 ± 5.3). Coping behaviors mean was (M = 29.0 ± 15.2). The main coping behavior was problem-solving (M = 9.5 ± 5.6). Conclusion: The study confirmed that students perceived moderate levels of stress in their first clinical training, and the most common sources of stress were taking care of the patients and teachers and nursing staff. However, the main coping behavior was problem-solving.