Nurse Interns’ Satisfaction with Internship Training Program in Saudi Arabian Universities: A Cross-sectional Survey
Abstract
Nursing clinical placement are vital milestones in nursing education affecting the traditional classroom between academic preparation and skilled practice. However, the satisfaction with the clinical learning environment still underexplored by the intern performance and professional development, mainly in Saudi Arabia where internship program for nurses operates within distinct socio cultural and institutional contexts. This study aimed to evaluate the level of satisfaction with the clinical learning environment as perceived by nursing interns from selected universities in Saudi Arabia. Descriptive cross-sectional research was utilized involving 209 nursing interns which were selected through convenience sampling. Structured survey instrument was utilized to collected the necessary data. The tool encompassing five subscales of satisfaction: Clinical Training and Learning Environment, Mentorship and Supervision, Workload, Professional Preparedness and Career Readiness, and Overall Internship Experience. The descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentage and mean and standard deviation including independent sample t test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were utilized for analysis of data. Findings revealed a moderate level of satisfaction 2.69, SD = 0.07. For the five subscales: Mentorship and Supervision yielded the lowest satisfaction rating (M = 2.59, SD = 1.20), classified as Dissatisfied, while Clinical Training and Learning Environment obtained the highest mean score (M = 2.76, SD = 1.17). The item-level analysis shows that comfort in discussing challenges with supervisors, workload manageability, mentorship contribution to decision-making, and psychosocial safety were areas of concern. Independent-samples t-tests indicated statistically significant differences in satisfaction based on living arrangement (p =.002) and prior clinical training (p =.048), with off-campus residents and interns without prior clinical experience demonstrating higher satisfaction. There was no significant difference found between the level of satisfaction across all demographic variables. A moderated level of satisfaction among nursing intern was reported. The mentorship and supervision were identified as the main concern as perceived by the nursing intern. There is a need to strengthen the mentorship structures and mentor-mentee relationship and address the workload inequities as living arrangement and prior clinical training were found to have significant differences as determinants to satisfaction. of the owners. Based on the result of the study, access to finance rationalizes the stagnation and survival mentalities of micro and small business owners.
How to Cite This Article
Nazirah Nouh, Raghad Abdulrahman Hadi AlHarbi, Juri Fahad Ali aloufi, Ohood Awad Mahmood Alanazi, Dana Fawaz Ali Alanazi, Salha Mohammed Albishi (2026). Nurse Interns’ Satisfaction with Internship Training Program in Saudi Arabian Universities: A Cross-sectional Survey . Journal of Frontiers in Multidisciplinary Research (JFMR), 7(2), 08-15. DOI: https://doi.org/10.54660/.JFMR.2026.7.2.08-15