Medical and nursing students crying in hospital settings.

Crying may be described as a loss of control, the result of feelings of helplessness and inadequacy, or a sign of suffering. It may occur in a variety of situations, such as unhappiness, sadness, illness, death, anxiety, pain, or failure, but it can also arise from joy and fulfillment. Crying is frequently observed in hospitals. The aim of this study was to determine the crying patterns of undergraduate medical and nursing students. The study design included non-experimental, descriptive research using a self-report questionnaire. Of the 130 students who completed the questionnaire, 90 were medical students and 40 were nursing students. Seventy-nine of the students were women, and 51 were men. All of the students were in their last semester of study. Many of the medical and nursing students reported having cried in a hospital. Of students who had cried, 90% were women, and 10% were men. Medical students usually cried outside the hospital setting, whereas nursing students usually cried in the nurses' room. Personal problems faced by students during their education were the primary reason for crying. Although more than half of the students felt relaxed after crying, only the nursing students sought comfort from the people around them. These findings should be useful in the development and continuous improvement of the curricula of medical and nursing students.