Sources of Stress in Third Year Baccalaureate Nursing Students

Abstract

Nurse educators often question the value of videotaping experiences because they provoke anxiety in participants. Although the use of videotape to help students improve their interpersonal skills is well documented in the literature, student anxiety about being videotaped has not been well investigated. High anxiety levels observed in some students may indicate that they do not benefit from the experience, and may even be negatively affected. Fuller and Manning (1973) contended that the self-confrontation inherent in video playback has potential for help and for harm. Anxiety is a response to self-confrontation. This is a report of the findings of a pilot test on a questionnaire designed to determine whether self-reported anxiety in videotape experiences is a predictor of learning, and whether certain characteristics of learners are major predictors of anxiety. Implications for management of anxiety and questions for further study are discussed.