When education turns critical: A rapid review of undergraduate and graduate nursing students' experiences and needs with critical events.

BACKGROUND: Many nursing students experience critical events during clinical education. As students are rarely prepared for such events, they can perceive them as traumatic, doubt their competence, or even drop out of education. Little is known about which events are perceived as critical by nursing students, how they affect them, and what support is required.

AIM: This rapid review examines, summarises, and critically evaluates the available evidence on critical events in nursing students.

METHODS: The researchers conducted a rapid review following the steps from the Cochrane Rapid Reviews Methods Group to examine the existing literature and systematically and rapidly summarise the evidence relating to the research aims. The literature search was conducted via three databases and Google Scholar.

RESULTS: Seventeen studies examined critical events among nursing students and highlighted that, besides nurse-oriented types, individual and organisational types also influence the perception of critical events. The biopsychosocial effects of nursing students can be mitigated if they receive professional support before (education), during (guidance), and after (debriefing) these events.

CONCLUSION: Nursing schools and healthcare institutions are responsible for preparing nursing students and their professional environment to deal with critical events. The combination of interventions that occur before, during, and after a critical event is favoured by students and positively impacts their psychological recovery after a critical event.