Determination of intern students' problems encountered in surgical clinics, locus of control and problem solving skills

Aim: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted with the aim of examining the problems met by intern students in surgery clinics, their locus of control and their problem-solving skills. Materials and Methods: The population of the study consisted of 257 students who were surgical nursing intern students in the academic year 2015-2016, and the sample was formed from the 188 students agreed voluntarily to take part in the research. A subject description form, a Problem Solving Form and the Internal-External Locus of Control Scale were used to collect data. Analysis of data was performed using the program SPSS 18.00. In the evaluation of data, numbers, percentages, and the Mann-Whitney U and Kruskall-Wallis tests were used. Findings: It was found that 29.3% of the intern students had experienced problems in the surgical clinics, and that 56.4% of the students who had experienced problems had met problems relating to their profession. The students' mean score on the Problem Solving Scale was 107.08±17.30 (high problem solving skills), and their mean score on the Locus of Control Scale was 132.47±17.06 (internal locus of control belief high). When correlation analysis was performed, a weak positive correlation (r=0.284) was found between the scales with a 95% significance level (p<0.001*). According to this, the mean control locus scores of students with high mean problem solving scale scores were high at a low level of significance. Conclusion: It was found that a large proportion of the intern students had not experienced problems, but that those who had experienced problems had generally had work-related problems. It was determined that the students' internal locus of control belief was high and in connection with this their problem solving skills were high. The intern students' high internal locus of control belief may show that students who will work as nurses in the future will show the necessary sensitivity to problems, and be able to act effectively to solve problems. Key Words: Surgical Diseases Nursing, Problem Solving Questionnaire, Internal-External Locus Of Control Questionnaire