Evaluating Nursing Students' Anxiety and Depression during Initial Clinical Experience

Nursing students suffer high levels of stress and anxiety during their education experiences. Clinical training and first exposure in hospital clinical training field more stress than class experiences. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the perceived level of stress and anxiety in undergraduate nursing students. In this cross- sectional study, data were obtained from 30 students using a self-administered questionnaire The zung anxiety status inventory (ASI), zung self-rating depression scale. Prevalence of Normal range of depression level was 90%, mildly depressed 6.7% and moderately depressed about 3.3%. However the Zung anxiety status inventory reported only 6.7% of the student had marked to severe anxiety levels. Significant variation in anxiety status was evident with the anxiety scores were ranked as mild or moderate in 53.3% of students. These findings call for introduction of stress management programs and psychiatric care into nursing health services of the University.