Nursing Students' Experience of Sexual Harassment During Clinical Practicum: A Phenomenological Approach

PURPOSE: To describe nursing students' experience of sexual harassment during clinical practicum. METHODS: An interpretive phenomenological qualitative approach was used to understand contextual experiences of participants. Individual in-depth interviews were conducted to collect data from thirteen nursing students who experienced sexual harassment during clinical practice in general hospitals at D metropolitan city. All interviews were recorded and transcribed into Korean and English. Transcripts were analyzed using the data analysis method described by Diekelmann, Allen, and Tanner. RESULTS: The following 12 themes emerged from the data: ‘unprepared to respond’, ‘lack of education’, ‘unsure about when behavior crosses the line’, ‘power differential for nursing students’, ‘balancing self-preservation with obligations to patients’, ‘shame’, ‘feeling responsible for not being able to prevent the harassment’, ‘impact on patient care’, ‘fear of what might have happened’, ‘fear of repercussions’, ‘long term impact’, and ‘peer support’. CONCLUSION: Participants in this study described feeling an obligation to care for their patients. However, they seemed to be unable to balance this while feeling vulnerable to sexual harassment with strong negative feelings. Helping students recognize and effectively deal with sexual harassment is a critical element to assure quality learning for participants and maintain quality of care during clinical practice.

The Emergence of the North Texas Korean American Nurses Society and its Contributions to Korean Immigrant Societies in the U.S / 간호행정학회지

PURPOSE: To describe the emergence of the North Texas Korean American Nurses Society (NTKANS) and to examine its sociocultural contributions to Korean immigrant societies in the U.S. for the last half century. METHODS: The study used retrospective historical analysis to explore the first North Texas Korean immigrant nurses' footsteps. Using Christy's historical research methodology, this study explored themes found in the NTKANS Minutes, the directories, and newspapers, and compared them with historical nursing contexts found in documents, immigrant nurse's pictures, and letters. Interviews with twenty first immigrant Korean nurses, the members, were also used as main data. RESULTS: Since its emergence in 1969, the NTKANS have contributed to local Korean societies through community medical services, financial supports to local Korean associations, local publications, and opening Korean school. In addition, the society has contributed to the other Korean immigrant nursing societies in the U.S. CONCLUSION: The sociocultural contributions NTKANS had made to Korean immigrant societies were not possible without its members' enormous efforts, personal struggles, and altruistic dedications. The trials and tribulations these immigrant nurses have overcome and the achievements they made for last half century would greatly inspire students and nurses in Korea who may seek international leadership and scholarship.