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As an important professional value, dignity has always been an ethical concern in nursing education and practice. However, the dignity of nursing students in clinical environments has remained a little-discussed topic. This study aims to explore and describe nursing students' dignity in clinical learning environments. This study is a qualitative descriptive work in which data were collected via semi-structured, in-depth, individual interviews and subsequently analyzed according to conventional content analysis. Based on the inclusion criteria of the study, nursing students were selected from different departments of university hospitals in the south of Iran from October 2019 to December 2020 (n = 21). Sampling continued to the point of data saturation. This study has been approved by the institutional review board of the university. Two themes emerged from the data collected in the interviews: trust-based relationships and formation of professional identity. The findings of the study show that nursing students need to be supported by their instructors and perceive that the personnel and patients believe in their ability. In an effectively supportive, trust-based atmosphere, these factors can contribute to maintaining nursing students dignity. Also, showing respect for their personal identity, projecting a positive image of nursing, and giving them authority to perform executive and clinical tasks in hospital departments play a major role in the formation of nursing students' professional identity and development of their dignity. Accordingly, it is recommended that in cultural contexts and clinical learning environments, more attention should be given to nursing students' dignity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Nursing students experience ethical conflicts and challenges during their clinical education. These may lead to moral distress and disturb the learning process. Objectives: This study aimed to explore and to evaluate the nursing students' ethical challenges in the clinical settings in Iran. Research design: This was a mixed-methods study with an exploratory sequential design. Participants and research context: A total of 37 and 120 Iranian nursing students participated in the qualitative and quantitative phases, respectively. Ethical considerations: The ethical committee of Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Iran, approved the protocol of the study. Findings: Three main categories were extracted from qualitative data including Low attention of nurses to the patients' preferences; Lack of authority; and Inadequate support. A total of 97% of the students had more than one ethical challenge in clinical settings and 48% of them stated that their challenges did not resolve. The total score of perceived ethical challenges was 62.03 ± 9.17, which was moderate. The highest mean score related to the "Low attention of nurses to the patients' preferences" subscale. Discussion: The finding confirmed most of the existing results of other international researches about the frequency and kinds of baccalaureate nursing students' ethical challenges. Conclusion: Identifying student ethical challenges helps teachers to manage their clinical learning process better. This study may provide a view for the nurses, clinical educators, and managers toward nursing students' ethical challenges and their impact on nursing students' clinical experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]