الفهرس 
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Abstract
Psychiatric nursing clinical experience appears as a stark contrast to other clinical experiences.
Students’ role during this experience is generally considerable- less about defined tasks or manual skills as in previous clinical experience and more about development of a therapeutic interpersonal relationship, communicating therapeutically with the patients, use of self as a therapeutic tool, engage patients in discourse and change and focus on individuality of patients.
There are many challenges face students during this experience. Some of these challenges are; students’ myths and stereotypes about psychotic patients that have been prevailed in the community, students’ negative feelings and fears from those patients and from the whole experience.
In addition, the nature of psychotic patients that need more effort from students to build trusting relationship with them, the clinical environment that may be unsuitable educationally for students’ learning and finally, the hospital staff that may be lacking any information about students’ educational objectives.
All of these may be contributing factor in increasing students’ distress during psychiatric nursing clinical experience and affect on their benefits from this experience and how to deal with the patients.
So the identification of theses challenges might lead to development of strategies that eliminate effect of these challenges on students’ learning process.
The present study aimed at identifying challenges and learning issues facing students during their psychiatric nursing clinical training.
The study was conducted at the Faculty of Nursing, Alexandria University.
The subjects of the study included the fourth year students in the academic year 2005-2006.
Their total numbers amounted to (244) students.
The study subjects were only (228) enrolled in psychiatric and mental health nursing clinical experience.
The rest were excluded from the study as (13) of them repeated the psychiatric nursing clinical experience after failing and this may affect their perception and expectations.
The remaining (3) students did not complete the clinical experience because they exceeded their allowed days of absenteeism and accordingly could not complete the study tools.
The data were obtained through using the following tools.
Tool I- Challenges and learning issues questionnaire sheet. Tool II- Clinical learning environment scale (CLES).
Tool III- Student evaluation of clinical education environment (SECEE) inventory. Tool IV- Focus group discussion.
A pilot study was carried out on 10 students of the internship nurses to test the clarity and applicability of the tools.
Actual study started at the beginning of psychiatric nursing clinical experience during the theoretical orientation week at the faculty.
Part 1 from Tool I was distributed to the students to answer about it.
After ending orientation day at El Maamoura Hospital, part 2 from Tool I was given to students to respond to it.
By the end of psychiatric nursing clinical experience, part III from Tool I, Tool II, Tool III were distributed to students after explanation of content of the tools.
Also, focus group discussion was done by the end of psychiatric nursing clinical experience.