A stairway to Confidence in Nursing: Thai Male Nursing Students’ Caring Experience of First Nursing Practice

Sammanfattning: Learning to care and first encounter to care patients for male nursing students introduce a unique set of dilemmas to the predominantly female nursing educational process. The purpose of this study was to describe the experience male nursing students learning to care and first encounter care patients in their first nursing practice. A purposive sampling of seven male nursing students were interviewed by internet interview and analyzed by Qualitative content analysis. The results show that the Thai male nursing student stairway to confidence in nursing they start with feelings of stressfulness, developing sensitiveness, developing co—operation and developing strategies to care and encounter with patient. The results also seem to include gender specific questions on how to handle dilemmas in the predominantly female nursing education. These may reflect facilitators and barriers of developing a caring mind among male nursing students. Implication for nursing education and practice are presented and discussed.  In the clinical practice, the method of teaching was important to encourage, but also to gain additional knowledge and support peer groups as a suitable learning environment.