Listen to the beat of my heart: the lived experience of panic attack in undergraduate nursing students: an interpretive inquiry

Abstract

This interpretive inquiry explores the lived experience of 3 undergraduate nursing students and one midwifery student who have panic attacks. The aim of the research is to give voice to these students and to raise awareness among nurse educators about the impact that panic attacks may have for them. The research question asks, "what is the lived experience of panic attack in undergraduate nursing students?" A semi structured Interview was conducted with each student in order to gain significant data. A hermeneutic phenomenological method with particular reference to the works of Max van Manen was used to inform the interpretation and analysis of their experience. The research identified four key themes implicit to the lived experience of panic attack analysis: Listen to the beat of my heart (embodiedness), fearfulness, shamefulness, and holding one's own (coping). The findings suggest that that the lived experience of panic attack is embedded in the lifeworld of lived body, lived time, lived relation, and lived space. Panic attack affects students physically and emotionally and interpersonally. The significant finding is that nurse educators need be aware of the coping or non-coping strategies used by students and, most importantly, recognize the impact that panic attacks have on their study.