Assessment of the quality of care perceived by patients in clinical learning environments: a field trial

Background: Patients’ perception of quality of care is a central concept in the health context, reflecting the degree of satisfaction and confidence that users have with the services they receive. It is a subjective dimension, influenced by the patient’s perception of various factors, including communication, humanistic care, comfort, and accessibility of services. Understanding this perception is crucial to improving the quality of care and ensuring a positive experience for users. The most important aspects include communication, humanisation of care, comfort and safety, accessibility, and continuity of care. Assessing the perceived quality of nursing care allows us to care for the patient from a holistic perspective. It gives practitioners a way to measure and compare the results of their clinical practice with the expected outcomes. Outcome: The purpose of this study is to evaluate and investigate the quality of care perceived by patients, in the presence or absence of nurse students. Methods: Field Trial, cross-sectional study according to the CONSORT Statement, led in the La Fe Hospital in Valencia. The New Castle Satisfaction with Nursing Scale (NSNS) questionnaire was used. Results: The findings revealed a favorable assessment concerning the support, relational dynamics, and information that patients perceived from the nursing staff. Less positive, however, was the degree of perceived attention, probably attributable to the disparity in the number of nurses/patients. Conclusion: The perception of the quality of care received is generally positive; however, this quality could be further enhanced if nurses were afforded the opportunity to allocate sufficient time to each individual’s needs.