Culturally and linguistically diverse pre-registration nursing students' experiences and perceptions of workplace violence during clinical placement: A qualitative study

Background Workplace violence (WPV) is a significant global concern for nurses and nursing students in clinical settings. Nursing students undertake clinical placement as a part of their nursing program. Clinical placements are intended to facilitate safe and supportive learning experiences for students; however, they encounter WPV. WPV experiences of nursing students are widely discussed in the literature, but there is limited insight into the experiences and perceptions of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) pre-registration nursing students of WPV during clinical placement. Aim This study explored the experiences and perceptions of CALD pre-registration nursing students of WPV during clinical placement. Methods A qualitative descriptive research design informed by naturalistic inquiry was employed. A purposive and snowball sample of ten CALD pre-registration nursing students with clinical placement experience participated in the study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted between March and July 2025. Data collection continued until data sufficiency was reached. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, and data were analysed using Braun and Clarke (2022) thematic analysis framework. Results Five themes emerged from thematic analysis: ‘WPV through CALD eyes’, ‘CALD is one of the reasons’, ‘Unveiling the consequences’, ‘Navigating WPV’ and ‘Creating a culturally safe clinical learning environment’. CALD pre-registration nursing students reported experiencing verbal, physical, and racial violence along with bullying behaviours and mistreatment during clinical placement. Conclusion CALD pre-registration nursing students are at risk of experiencing WPV during clinical placement. They experience verbal abuse, physical aggression, racism, bullying, and mistreatment from patients and nurses. Addressing WPV and creating a culturally safe clinical learning space requires a united effort from educational institutions and healthcare organisations.