Nursing students require resilience to navigate the complexities of clinical practice. This characteristic is essential for managing demanding workloads, unpredictable patient situations, and emotional stressors while maintaining performance and well-being. Fostering resilience helps students develop the capacity to adapt to adversity, overcome setbacks, and remain committed to providing high-quality patient care. This qualitative study explores the challenges and supports influencing nursing students’ resilience during clinical education. Interviews with 28 Thai nursing students revealed two key themes: the “experience of vulnerability” and the “experience of meaningfulness”. The sub-themes of vulnerability included “navigating uncertainty”, “transcending professional struggles”, and “being exposed to diverse encounters”. The sub-themes of meaningfulness focused on restoring strength through social interactions and engaging in positive transformation. This study highlights the need for comprehensive support systems that address personal and professional vulnerabilities. Integrating caring theory principles could further enhance resilience by emphasizing compassionate care and fostering student empathy. This suggests that instructors and stakeholders can significantly impact student well-being by creating supportive environments built on collaboration, empathy, and mentorship, all of which are aligned with caring theory.

Resilience aids nursing students in dealing with adversities during their nursing education. This study examined the relationship between nursing students’ resilience and relevant variables in the context of clinical education. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to collect data from 319 undergraduate nursing students in Northeast Thailand. The Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale, the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, the Learning Experience Scale or the Personal Responsibility Orientation to Self-Direction in Learning Scale, and the Stressors in Nursing Students scale were administered. A multiple regression analysis was performed for factors presumed to be associated with resilience. Results reported that Thai nursing students’ average resilience score was 71.79 ± 16.33. Multiple regression analysis indicated factors associated with resilience, in which social support (β = 0.354, p < 0.001, 95%CI: 0.240 to 0.469) and self-directed learning (β = 0.787, p < 0.001, 95%CI: 0.606 to 0.968) showed a positive association, while stress (β = −0.083, p = 0.025, 95%CI: −0.083 to −0.006) had a negative association. The final model accounted for 43.4% of the variance in the resilience score. In conclusion, self-directed learning, social support, and perceived stress among nursing students during clinical education are associated with their resilience.

Background: Resilience is a cornerstone attribute for nursing students, enabling them to adapt to stressful situations encountered during their educational journey and subsequent healthcare career. Objective: This qualitative study aimed to explore nursing instructors’ experiences promoting resilience among nursing students during clinical education. Methods: Focus groups were conducted with 27 instructors from four nursing colleges in Thailand. Data were analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s inductive thematic analysis approach, guided by the Unitary Caring Science Resilience-Building Model. Results: Two main themes emerged: (1) Challenges to Nursing Students’ Resilience and (2) Support Strategies for Enhancing Resilience. Challenges included bridging theory and practice, upholding confidence in clinical skills, adapting to new clinical environments, and managing expectations. Support strategies encompassed providing comprehensive preparation, fostering open communication, implementing peer support systems, and utilizing reflective practice. Conclusions: The findings highlight the complex interplay of factors affecting nursing students’ resilience and the multifaceted approaches instructors use to support it. This study underscores the need for a holistic approach to nursing education that addresses clinical competence and psychological well-being. Implications include curriculum redesign to bridge the theory–practice gap, enhanced instructor training in mentorship and resilience-building, implementation of comprehensive student support systems, and technology integration to support learning and resilience.

Background: Integration of rational drug use (RDU) into a nursing program to increase nurse graduates’ RDU competencies is essential to solving the problem of irrational drug use. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the integrated model of the RDU into the Bachelor of Nursing Science (BNS) program developed by the Thailand Nursing and Midwifery Council (TNMC). Methods: A mixed-methods study was designed using a sequential explanatory design. The whole population of 3,848 nurse educators and 9,249 nurse graduates from 86 nursing education institutions across Thailand in Academic Year 2018 were recruited for quantitative data collection. Fifty nurse educators selected as representatives of the nursing education institutions were recruited for qualitative data collection. Online questionnaires were sent to collect information regarding the context, input, process, and product relating to the model, while structured focus group guidelines were developed to obtain more details in assessing the model. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and content analysis. Results: The findings showed that the context and policy of utilizing the model to increase nurse graduates’ RDU competencies were well accepted. The nurse educators’ RDU competencies, the input of the model, were rated at a high level. The process of the model was implemented as guided at almost all nursing education institutions. The product of the model, the RDU competencies of the nurse graduates, was reported at a high level. Conclusion: The model of integrating the RDU into the BNS program developed by the TNMC was well performed and resulted in high RDU competencies of the nurse graduates. This integration model should be published and applied in nursing schools worldwide to enhance RDU competencies of nurse graduates.