Quality of life of nursing internship students in Saudi Arabia during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic caused an unprecedented negative impact on the usual way of life. The fight against this fatal virus demands the united force of healthcare workers, including nurse interns. Therefore, being unprepared for a crisis of this magnitude which never happened in a century, how do nurse interns perceive their quality of life being caught amidst the pandemic.ObjectivesThis study aimed to provide answers to the following 1) What is the demographic profile of the participants; 2) what are the responses of the participants in the Quality of Life for Nursing Internship Students Scale?; 3) What is the difference in the responses of the participants to the domains of the scale; 4) what is the relationship between each demographic profile of the participants to their responses to the domains of the scale?MethodsThis study used a quantitative cross-sectional design through an electronic survey form in the collection of data. A total of 152 nurse interns in Saudi Arabia completed the survey.ResultsAcross the 22-item questionnaire, the nurse interns still feel safe being in the hospital, clinic, or other healthcare facilities with a mean of 3.32 while item 8, which is having abundant energy, had the lowest mean of 1.91. The overall mean is 2.61, interpreted as ‘important.’ConclusionThis study found out despite being amid a pandemic, the quality of life of nurse interns is within fair and manageable boundaries. Further, it showed that their social and psychological preparedness are intact and resilient.