Application of the Nursing Process, a study from the Students' Experience

The Nursing Attention Process is a method of caregiving that employs scientific fundaments. Its use promotes reflexive assistance, critical thinking and is a primary source of autonomy in the profession, it is also linked to professional development in the education context. Nevertheless, there isn’t enough evidence in Costa Rica to establish the characteristics of its application. Thus, a phenomenological qualitative study was conducted which proposed 1. To determine the meaning given by nursing students at the University of Costa Rica to the method's application. 2. To distinguish the manner in which it was being used. To do this, documents and interviews of a sample of 5th year nursing students were analysed. The results show that the way the method was conducted differed between participants and the meaning given to its use was related to three categories: knowledge, experience and teaching. In this study the meaning given to the implementation experiences and the way to use it as well as the difficulties with its use were understood. However, to understand the phenomenon in depth in Costa Rica, it is considered essential to continue with the exploration of the subject.