Background: Since its inception, Corona virus disease (COVID-19) has severely overburdened
hospitals and all healthcare workers. One of the important key people were the nurses who did their
best to provide nursing care for COVID-19 patients over extended hours. Due to the increased need
for nursing staff, nursing intern students were deployed to help. The aim of the current study was to
explore the lived experience of recovered COVID-19 nursing intern students. Materials and
Methods: This phenomenological qualitative study was carried out in Cairo-Egypt. A purposive
sample of 15 nursing intern students was recruited who worked at Internal medicine hospital
(isolation hospital), which is affiliated to Cairo University hospitals. Data was collected through a
semi-structured individual interview using a video recording zoom meeting. The technique of
Colaizzi's data analysis was used to extract, organize and analyze the data. Results: Five themes
emerged from the data analysis as follows: response toward working with COVID-19 patients;
readiness and preparation; challenges of the disease process; support system and coping; and post
recovery state. Conclusion: Findings of the current study provide information about the challenges
confronted by the participants and highlight support needs. Continuous education and training
should be provided to assure that intern students are confident in taking care of patients during a
pandemic. Also, the government should consider including intern students in the labor law to ensure
adequate health care coverage for them.