Exploring the Relationship Between Stress and Satisfaction During Clinical Training Among Respiratory Therapy Students: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Survey

Figures & data

Table 1 Demographic Data of Study Participants (n=1001)

Variable
Age, years (Mean (SD))	22 (2.2)
Gender, (male %)	521 (52%)
Geographical Region, n (%)
Central	291 (29%)
Eastern	269 (27%)
Western	263 (26%)
Northern	29 (3%)
Southern	149 (15%)
Academic level, n (%)
2^nd year	341 (34%)
3^rd year	358 (36%)
4^th year	221 (22%)
Intern	81 (8%)
Current GPA, (n %)
≥ 4.51	279 (28%)
4.00–4.50	384 (39%)
3.51–3.99	193 (19%)
3.0–3.50	53 (5%)
< 3.0	92 (11%)
Have you ever thought about quitting the RT program? n (%)
Yes	384 (38%)
No	617 (62%)

Note: Data are presented as n (%) or mean SD.

Abbreviations: GPA, Grade Point Average; RT, Respiratory Therapy.

Figure 1 Flow chart of the included study participants.

Table 2 Factors Associated with Stress Domains

Baseline Characteristics	Inadequate Knowledge and Training	Adverse and Embarrassing Experience	Close Supervision	Insufficient Hospital Resources	Patients’ Pain and Suffering	Education – Reality Conflict
	Mean (SD)	Mean (SD)	Mean (SD)	Mean (SD)	Mean (SD)	Mean (SD)
Gender
Male	3.52 (0.62)	3.48 (0.66)	3.42 (0.82)	3.42 (0.82)	3.30 (0.93)	3.46 (3.80)
Female	3.67 (0.61)	3.63 (0.63)	3.58 (0.78)	3.44 (0.62)	3.55 (0.85)	3.63 (0.82)
P value	0.002	0.001	0.018	0.014	<0.001	0.018
Academic level
2^nd	3.47 (0.78)	3.32 (0.69)	3.42 (0.89)	3.23 (0.70)	3.33 (0.96)	3.36 (0.99)
3^rd	3.55 (0.67)	3.53 (0.66)	3.57 (0.71)	3.39 (0.64)	3.42 (0.92)	3.50 (0.78)
4^th	3.65 (0.55)	3.63 (0.58)	3.65 (0.76)	3.41 (0.63)	3.47 (0.84)	3.55 (0.86)
Intern	3.71 (0.56)	3.64 (0.66)	3.70 (0.79)	3.49 (0.57)	3.53 (0.86)	3.65 (0.79)
P value	0.002	0.011	0.028	0.022	0.282	0.011
Intention to quit.
Yes	3.63 (0.62)	3.64 (0.65)	3.62 (0.76)	3.44 (0.60)	3.48 (0.69)	3.61 (0.80)
No	3.46 (0.59)	3.47 (0.59)	3.36 (0.85)	3.33 (0.68)	3.37 (0.92)	3.34 (0.88)
P value	<0.001	0.001	<0.001	0.004	0.021	0.002

Note: A p <0.005 is considered significant.

Table 3 Factors Associated with Satisfaction

Baseline Characteristics	RT Profession	RT Studies	Clinical Experience
	Mean (SD)	Mean (SD)	Mean (SD)
Gender
Male	3.67 (0.61)	3.63 (0.63)	3.65 (0.88)
Female	3.52 (0.62)	3.48 (0.66)	3.49 (0.83)
P value	0.001	0.001	0.004
Academic level
2^nd	2.56 (0.73)	2.53 (0.79)	2.55 (0.85)
3^rd	3.52 (0.73)	2.54 (0.77)	2.56 (0.79)
4^th	3.45 (0.83)	2.39 (0.83)	2.43 (0.90)
Intern	2.75 (0.68)	2.77 (0.61)	2.76 (0.81)
P value	<0.001	0.005	<0.001
Intention to quit.
Yes	2.85 (0.78)	2.87 (0.76)	2.88 (0.85)
No	2.40 (0.73)	2.35 (0.75)	2.40 (0.81)
P value	<0.001	<0.001	<0.001

Note: A p <0.005 is considered significant.

Table 4 Correlations Between Satisfaction and Stress Subscales

Stress Domains	RT Profession (r; p-value)	RT Studies (r; p-value)	Clinical Experience (r; p-value)
Inadequate knowledge and training	−0.31; 0.011	−0.34; <0.001	−0.32; <0.001
Adverse and embarrassing experience	−0.29; 0.21	−0.30; 0.023	−0.28; <0.001
Close supervision	−0.32; 0.0014	−0.27; <0.001	−0.39; 0.001
Insufficient hospital resources	−0.35; 0.002	−0.28; 0.007	−0.29; 0.004
Patients’ pain and suffering	−0.01; 0.862	−0.24; 0.041	−0.15; 0.61
Education – reality conflict	−0.29; 0.032	−0. 31; <0.001	−0.32; 0.002