Nursing students’ experiences of patient information protection during clinical practice: a qualitative study

BACKGROUND: Nursing students frequently access patient information during clinical practice and face ethical challenges in protecting patient information. This study aimed to explore and describe nursing students' experiences of patient information protection during clinical practice. METHODS: A qualitative descriptive approach was employed to understand nursing students' experiences of patient information protection. Using convenience sampling, twenty-three nursing students were recruited from four nursing schools in South Korea. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and field notes until data were saturated. A qualitative content-analysis was conducted for data analysis. Rigor was ensured achieving four criteria including credibility, dependability, confirmability, and transferability. RESULTS: Four themes emerged from the data analysis. Nursing students experienced awareness of the importance of patient confidentiality, challenges of protecting patient information, inappropriate use of patient information, and need for more education about patient confidentiality. CONCLUSIONS: Nursing students recognized gaps between their awareness and practice in terms of patient confidentiality. They reported the need for repetitive and case-based education on patient information protection. This study provides valuable data for developing strategies for patient information protection. Future research need to develop better pedagogical strategies to improve students' protection of patient information during clinical practice.