Background: Physical evaluation is a crucial nursing instrument and fundamental to deliver good nursing care
and is considered nursing practice's central component. Aim: We aimed to determine the perceived barriers among
undergraduate nursing students toward performing physical assessment of critical care patients. Design: The descriptive
design was utilized in this study. Setting(s): This study was performed at the Faculty of Nursing at Matrouh University,
Egypt. Participants: A convenience sample of 179 undergraduate nursing students were included throughout the first
semester. Tool of data collection: Three tools will be employed to obtain data for this study. Tool one: is critical
nurse's student assessment; tool two is barriers to nurses' students using physical assessment scale; and tool three is
assessing physical examination knowledge and practice. Results: Different factors influenced students' experiences, all
of which combined to make it difficult for them to conduct well on physical assessments. The mean overall physical
assessment barriers among the studied students were 115.23 ± 11.15, with a percent score of 57.31 ± 7.9. The mean of
physical examination skills inventory (PESI) score was 68.97 ± 12.36, with a percent score of 81.62 ± 20.60 and a mean
score of 3.45 ± 0.62.. Conclusions: Being male, previous experience ICUs working and received previous physical
assessment training, having a higher academic level, and a higher grades were all factors that were strongly linked with
decrease perceived barriers among nurses' students' education and experience of physical assessment. Perceived barriers
to physical assessment were positively correlated with age, academic level, grades level, and prior ICU work.
Constructing competency-based education is considered a mean of overcoming physical assessment challenges.
Recommendations: Training on performing physical assessment and educational support services and awareness are
recommended.