Exploring nursing students’ emotional experiences of patient cardiac arrest in the operating room: a descriptive phenomenological study
Abstract Background Witnessing cardiac arrest in the operating room presents significant emotional challenges for nursing students. As future healthcare providers, they must cultivate resilience while preserving empathy. Understanding their emotional responses during such critical events is essentia...
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BMC
2025-07-01
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| Series: | BMC Medical Education |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-025-07475-2 |
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| author | Fatemeh Hesami Zahra Yousefi Mobin Mottahedi Hossein Bagheri |
| author_facet | Fatemeh Hesami Zahra Yousefi Mobin Mottahedi Hossein Bagheri |
| author_sort | Fatemeh Hesami |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Witnessing cardiac arrest in the operating room presents significant emotional challenges for nursing students. As future healthcare providers, they must cultivate resilience while preserving empathy. Understanding their emotional responses during such critical events is essential to enhancing clinical education and developing effective psychological support systems. Aim This study aimed to explore and describe the emotional experiences of nursing students who witnessed intraoperative cardiac arrest events, with the objective of informing educational and support strategies within high-stress clinical environments. Methods A qualitative study using a descriptive phenomenological approach was conducted with fourteen final-year nursing students from Iran, purposively selected until data saturation. Participants had experienced at least one intraoperative cardiac arrest and were screened for mental well-being. Data were gathered through semi-structured, face-to-face interviews and analyzed using Colaizzi’s seven-step method. Strategies to ensure trustworthiness included Lincoln and Guba’s criteria—credibility, dependability, confirmability, and transferability—as well as bracketing, member-checking, and expert review. Results Seventy initial codes were extracted and organized into eleven sub-themes and four overarching themes: (1) Emotional Turmoil and Psychological Impact, (2) Professional Identity Formation, (3) Coping Mechanisms and Support Systems, and (4) Lessons for Clinical Practice. Conclusions Intraoperative cardiac arrest elicits intense emotional reactions and identity-related struggles among nursing students. Incorporating structured debriefing, high-fidelity simulation with emotional components, and mentorship into clinical training could help transform these distressing experiences into valuable opportunities for resilience-building. Such interventions are critical for supporting students’ emotional development and improving the quality of patient care. Clinical trial number Not applicable. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-3f909efd503747a6bd41d174cf6c7c5d |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1472-6920 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Medical Education |
| spelling | doaj-art-3f909efd503747a6bd41d174cf6c7c5d2025-08-20T03:03:28ZengBMCBMC Medical Education1472-69202025-07-0125111010.1186/s12909-025-07475-2Exploring nursing students’ emotional experiences of patient cardiac arrest in the operating room: a descriptive phenomenological studyFatemeh Hesami0Zahra Yousefi1Mobin Mottahedi2Hossein Bagheri3Student Research Committee, School of Paramedicine, Shahroud University of Medical SciencesDepartment of Operating Room, School of Allied Medicine, Shahroud University of Medical SciencesDepartment of Operating Room, School of Allied Medicine, Shahroud University of Medical SciencesDepartment of Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Shahroud University of Medical SciencesAbstract Background Witnessing cardiac arrest in the operating room presents significant emotional challenges for nursing students. As future healthcare providers, they must cultivate resilience while preserving empathy. Understanding their emotional responses during such critical events is essential to enhancing clinical education and developing effective psychological support systems. Aim This study aimed to explore and describe the emotional experiences of nursing students who witnessed intraoperative cardiac arrest events, with the objective of informing educational and support strategies within high-stress clinical environments. Methods A qualitative study using a descriptive phenomenological approach was conducted with fourteen final-year nursing students from Iran, purposively selected until data saturation. Participants had experienced at least one intraoperative cardiac arrest and were screened for mental well-being. Data were gathered through semi-structured, face-to-face interviews and analyzed using Colaizzi’s seven-step method. Strategies to ensure trustworthiness included Lincoln and Guba’s criteria—credibility, dependability, confirmability, and transferability—as well as bracketing, member-checking, and expert review. Results Seventy initial codes were extracted and organized into eleven sub-themes and four overarching themes: (1) Emotional Turmoil and Psychological Impact, (2) Professional Identity Formation, (3) Coping Mechanisms and Support Systems, and (4) Lessons for Clinical Practice. Conclusions Intraoperative cardiac arrest elicits intense emotional reactions and identity-related struggles among nursing students. Incorporating structured debriefing, high-fidelity simulation with emotional components, and mentorship into clinical training could help transform these distressing experiences into valuable opportunities for resilience-building. Such interventions are critical for supporting students’ emotional development and improving the quality of patient care. Clinical trial number Not applicable.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-025-07475-2Cardiac arrestNursing studentsOperating roomEmotional experiencePhenomenologyQualitative research |
| spellingShingle | Fatemeh Hesami Zahra Yousefi Mobin Mottahedi Hossein Bagheri Exploring nursing students’ emotional experiences of patient cardiac arrest in the operating room: a descriptive phenomenological study BMC Medical Education Cardiac arrest Nursing students Operating room Emotional experience Phenomenology Qualitative research |
| title | Exploring nursing students’ emotional experiences of patient cardiac arrest in the operating room: a descriptive phenomenological study |
| title_full | Exploring nursing students’ emotional experiences of patient cardiac arrest in the operating room: a descriptive phenomenological study |
| title_fullStr | Exploring nursing students’ emotional experiences of patient cardiac arrest in the operating room: a descriptive phenomenological study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Exploring nursing students’ emotional experiences of patient cardiac arrest in the operating room: a descriptive phenomenological study |
| title_short | Exploring nursing students’ emotional experiences of patient cardiac arrest in the operating room: a descriptive phenomenological study |
| title_sort | exploring nursing students emotional experiences of patient cardiac arrest in the operating room a descriptive phenomenological study |
| topic | Cardiac arrest Nursing students Operating room Emotional experience Phenomenology Qualitative research |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-025-07475-2 |
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