Volume 30, Issue 2, 2021
DOI: 10.24205/03276716.2020.4001
Studying during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Nursing Student’s Perspectives and Experiences in Saudi Arabia
Abstract
The outbreak of the global and widespread COVID-19 pandemic extended to all nations and affected all races and socioeconomic categories. Global crises like the COVID-19 pandemic my pose devastating impacts on the academic functioning and psychological wellbeing of students, specifically nursing students. With such consideration, the current study focused on identifying the perceptions of nursing students towards the COVID-19 pandemic while also investigating some of their encounters while learning amid the pandemic. Data saturation was obtained after analyzing filled questionnaires and answers from 123 interviews conducted through virtual calls. Data was collected through analyzing the current literature and supplemented by surveys and virtual interviews online. Analysis of the data collected provided 16 codes that depicted various student’s perceptions and experiences. The participating nursing students answered questions pertaining to the ability of government institutions in controlling the virus. They also answered positively to indicate the prevalence with which misinformation was propagated by social media sites. Besides, the participants reported that the general populations did not follow the measures set by government’s institutions.
Keywords
Coronavirus, COVID-19, pandemics; nursing students; perceptions; experiences