Application of a Documentary about High-risk Newborns in Nursing Education: An Exploratory Study

ABSTRACT

Purpose@#The purpose of this study was to explore nursing students' recognition and understanding of the clinical environment of high-risk neonatal nursing care after watching a documentary about the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), where high-risk newborns are treated. @*Methods@#This study was a qualitative content analysis. In total, 151 nursing students’ personal essays describing their reactions to a documentary about the NICU were analyzed using the NVivo 12 program. @*Results@#Nursing students’ experiences of engaging with a documentary about the NICU were structured into four thematic categories ‘actual observations of the imagined NICU’, ‘observation and recognition of nursing knowledge’, ‘empathy with people related to the baby’, and ‘establishing attitudes and values as a nurse’. @*Conclusion@#Based on the results of this study, it is suggested that documentaries can be applied in nursing education about high-risk newborns.