Seda Tek Sevindik, Sercan Mansuroğlu, Dılşa Azizoğlu Keleş, Ayşe Okanli
Quiet quitting among nursing students emerged as a multidimensional phenomenon shaped by academic and clinical contexts, with a moderate level. Students with more pronounced scores described emotional withdrawal and minimum-necessary participation in response to hierarchical pressure, perceived injustice, excessive demands, and fear of violence. Supportive mentorship, fair educational practices, clear clinical roles, and psychologically safe learning environments may help address disengagement and support renewed participation.
BACKGROUND: Quiet quitting has increasingly been examined among healthcare professionals, yet little is known about how it manifests before entry into professional practice. Although nursing students experience substantial academic and clinical pressures, the extent of quiet quitting among them and the meanings underlying pronounced quiet quitting scores remain insufficiently understood.
OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine the level and distribution of quiet quitting among senior nursing students and to explore how students with high or very high quiet quitting scores experienced this phenomenon within academic, clinical, and professional contexts.
METHODS: An explanatory sequential mixed-methods design was used. Quantitatively, data were collected from 93 senior nursing students using the Quiet Quitting Scale. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics. Students scoring in the high and very high categories were purposively invited to the qualitative phase. Qualitatively, 16 students with "high" or "very high" quiet quitting levels participated in semi-structured in-depth interviews. Interview data were analysed using thematic analysis.
FINDINGS: The mean quiet quitting score was 48.92 ± 8.89, and 19.4% of students were in the high or very high score categories. Qualitatively, five main themes emerged: (1) meanings attributed to quiet quitting, (2) behavioral manifestations of quiet quitting, (3) quiet quitting: an internal conflict area, (4) triggers of quiet quitting, and (5) conditional and reversible nature of quiet quitting. Students in the high or very high score categories described emotional withdrawal, minimum-necessary participation, internal ethical conflict, and self-protective responses to academic and clinical pressures.
CONCLUSIONS: Quiet quitting among nursing students emerged as a multidimensional phenomenon shaped by academic and clinical contexts, with a moderate level. Students with more pronounced scores described emotional withdrawal and minimum-necessary participation in response to hierarchical pressure, perceived injustice, excessive demands, and fear of violence. Supportive mentorship, fair educational practices, clear clinical roles, and psychologically safe learning environments may help address disengagement and support renewed participation.