Shared Experiences Among BSN Students Aggression and Intimidation in the Academic and Practice Settings By Jennifer Reeves, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC and Cara Young, PhD, RN, FNP-C, FAANP, FAAN
What are undergraduate nursing students’ relational experiences in clinical and academic settings? Does the impact of experiences of aggression and intimidation influence student outcomes? A study seeks to find out. UNDERGRADUATE NURSING STUDENT’S experiences are heavily influenced by interactions with their learning environment (Muenks et al., 2020). This influence can be explained through relational cultural theory and the impact that relationships provide in contributing to a person’s growth and development (Sapiro, 2020). In addition, these experiences play a part in shaping a student’s perceptions of self, overall well-being,
and professional identity (Oliveira Silva et al., 2021). Aggressive behavior and intimidation within organizational learning has been associated with a decrease in psychological safety and poor student outcomes (Muenks et al., 2020). Understanding perceptions and the learning environment play a vital role in the success of a learner. The authors of this study set out to explore undergraduate nursing students’
T E X A S N U R S I N G M AGA Z I N E | I S S U E 2 , 2 0 2 4
PAGE 26
experiences with aggressive behavior and acts of intimidation in the clinical and academic settings and the impact of those experiences. Investigators developed a survey tool and distributed the survey to nursing students enrolled in five undergraduate nursing programs in Texas. Students provided socio-demographic data and reported if they had experienced aggressive behavior or acts of intimidation from: (1) a clinical preceptor, (2) another student, and/or (3) a faculty member while in school. Participants that reported acts of aggression were asked to report the frequency of these experiences, if they shared their experiences with anyone, and if they believed sharing their experi-