As far as the nursing programmes are
concerned, the various research findings
indicate that stress exists for students in both
the clinical and academic aspects of the
programme. The study conducted by Timmins
& Kaliszwer on 3rd year nursing students at
Trinity College, Dublin revealed five major
factors as sources of stress. Firstly, ‘academic’
stress factors. The second and third
components concern relationships, the former
involving teaching-related staff, and the latter
involving the clinical experience. The last two
components suggest that finance and death
of patients are independent sources of stress.8
Another study conducted by Beck & Srivastva
at School of Nursing, Memorial University of
Newfoundland, St. John’s, Canada found that
the students experienced high stress levels and
that they are at risk of having a physical or
psychiatric illness. In that study the subjects
were divided in two groups: the RN and the
generic students. Results showed that while
both groups were stressed, the generic
students report significantly higher levels of
stress.