Nursing students’ lived experiences during their first psychiatric clinical placement: a hermeneutic phenomenological study

Abstract

Psychiatric nursing is one of the most demanding areas in clinical practice. Undergraduate nursing students often experience fear, stigma, and uncertainty during their initial clinical placement in psychiatric settings. Understanding these early experiences is important for informing strategies to support students’ confidence, empathy, and professional identity. Limited research has explored how nursing students in Saudi Arabia interpret their first transition into psychiatric settings; this study aimed to explore the lived experiences of nursing students during their initial clinical placement. This study used a qualitative design guided by van Manen’s hermeneutic phenomenological approach. Purposive sampling was used to recruit 12 undergraduate nursing students enrolled in a psychiatric clinical training program at a public university in Saudi Arabia. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed following van Manen’s hermeneutic phenomenological approach, involving holistic, selective, and detailed reading with phenomenological reflection and interpretive writing. Four themes emerged, reflecting van Manen’s four lifeworld existentials of space, body, time, and relation: entering an unfamiliar environment (lived space), emotional strain (lived body), uncertain beginnings to cautious adaptation (lived time), and confronting stigma and negotiating connections (lived relation). Students’ first psychiatric placements were characterized by fear, uncertainty, and emotional strain, which gradually gave way to cautious adaptation and moments of emerging confidence. The findings highlight the value of structured mentorship, supportive learning environments, and preparatory strategies such as simulation and anti-stigma initiatives to help students manage the emotional complexity of psychiatric nursing practice. Not applicable.