Clinical Training Challenges Faced by Undergraduate Nursing Students During Clinical Rotation in District Swabi, KPK Pakistan
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Background: Clinical training is essential for developing nursing competencies, but undergraduate students frequently encounter educational, interpersonal, and organizational challenges during clinical rotations. Objective: To assess clinical training challenges among undergraduate nursing students in District Swabi, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, and compare perceived challenges across academic years. Methods: An analytical cross-sectional study included 277 second-, third-, and fourth-year nursing students recruited through convenience sampling from five nursing colleges. Data were collected using a 29-item questionnaire assessing teacher-related, patient-related, performance-related, and time/place-related challenges. Descriptive statistics, one-way analysis of variance, and Tukey HSD post-hoc tests were applied. Results: Most participants were male (81.2%) and third-year students (46.2%). Overall, 61.0% reported moderate challenges, 20.2% mild challenges, and 18.8% severe challenges. Performance-related factors had the highest reported mean score (2.20 ± 0.31), whereas teacher-related factors had the greatest proportion of severe challenges (30.3%). Academic-year differences were observed for teacher-related (F = 15.197, p < 0.001), patient-related (F = 5.483, p = 0.005), and performance-related factors (F = 7.313, p = 0.001), but not time/place-related factors (p = 0.871). Conclusion: Undergraduate nursing students experienced predominantly moderate clinical training challenges, with differences across academic years in three domains. These findings highlight perceived barriers involving practical learning opportunities and clinical supervision
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