Phenomenological Study of Body Mapping in Nursing Students: Making Life Experiences During the Pandemic Visible

During the global COVID-19 outbreak nursing students faced several challenges as the next generation of healthcare providers. However, in Chile no phenomenological studies that describe these experiences were found. This study aimed to describe students' lived experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. A descriptive phenomenological study was conducted on seven participants at a private university. Data was collected using the body- mapping approach and autobiographical narratives. Data from body mapping was analyzed using McCorquodale and DeLuca's methods, while the narratives were analyzed using Colaizzi's methodology. Four theme clusters emerged from the analysis: Don COVID, ominous experiences, educational issues, and Sorge. These findings provide evidence regarding the consequences of the accelerated online education in nursing schools due to the COVID-19 outbreak. This abrupt shift from traditional lecture-based classrooms to virtual environments caused educational and emotional issues. However, the results revealed the resilience that students developed when facing such overwhelming situation.