The Knowledge and Views of Fourth Class Nursing School Students about Nursing Process

Purpose: It is a descriptive-study which was planned to determine the knowledge and views of fourth class nursing students about the nursing process.

Method: The sample included 109 students who were consisted of fourth class students at a nursing school. The data were collected using a questionnaire developed by the authors. The data were analysed on a computer using demographic statistics such as percent and mean.

Results: Nursing students rated their theoretical and practical education about the nursing process as sufficient (53.2%) and important (63.3%). However 74.3% of students reported that there were differences among courses in application of the nursingprocess, and these differences were related to the documentation (60.6%) and the phases of the nursing process (40.4%). 74.3% of students reported to believe the importance of using the nursing process. More than the half of sample (65.1%) reported that they are eager to use the nursing process in practice after the graduation, 33.9% of the students stated the nursing process can be used routinely at the clinical field. Nursing students (32.1%) reported that the usage of nursing process will save time and 31.2% of the sample stated that the preparation of the nursing process takes long time.

Conclusion: The study findings show that students who are on the verge of a graduation believe in the importance of using the nursing process in nursing care and are eager to use it in nursing care.