Magister Psychologiae - MPsych / This qualitative, exploratory study comprises a discourse analysis of the emotional experiences of the parent of a transgendered child. The primary aim of the study was to detail the emotional experiences encountered by the parents of a transgendered child within the South African context, with a focus on how discourse is used to make sense of experiences. The research employed a single case-study, and data was collected via three semi-structured interviews. The data was analysed within a social constructionist framework, using discourse analysis (as per ten stages suggested by Potter and Wetherell, 1987). The literature review highlights various issues regarding the plight of transgendered children and their loved ones in trans-phobic societies, most of which are reflected in the findings. The pertinent themes were divided into four sections: “Discourse of Shaping”, “Discourse of Incongruous Loss”, “Discourse of Motherhood” and “The Transformer and Transformation”. In “Discourse of ‘Shaping’”, the focus is on the parent’s ‘compelled’ reconceptualization of issues and previously accepted ‘truths’ that lie at the core of identity, namely, gender and religion. “Discourse of Incongruous Loss” shows the trauma, challenges, complexity and many ambiguities in mourning someone who is simultaneously absent and present, the same yet different. It also explores additional aspects of the loss that distinguishes it from conventional loss, such as stigmatism and discrimination, lack of support, and ensuing losses. Data reveal that the discourse of motherhood, whilst placing immense pressure on the parent, also has an empowering effect. Although the discourse of motherhood gives rise to feelings of intense self-blame and hate regarding the trans-identity of the child, and ‘dictates’ unwavering compassion, selflessness, acceptance and nurturance, it also enables a basis for resisting oppression. The final section documents how a personal, painful, private experience is linked to broader social systems. It shows how an initially harrowing experience can become empowering, as the participant not only embraces previously unaccepted ‘truths’, but is also an advocate of transgenderism and contributes to social change. It is important to note though, that although ‘victorious’, the experience is a complex one and meaning-making is on-going. Throughout, the interplay of dominant discourses and alternate discourses and their role in the personal meaning-making experience of the participant, is documented. Various creative strategies are employed in order to enable acceptance of the trans-identity and the continuous meaning-making, such as, for example, vacillating between seemingly contradictory discourses. Based on the findings that emphasises the trauma caused by a dual-definition if gender, it is suggested that a more inclusive definition of gender be adopted, such as defining gender as a spectrum or on a continuum. A redefinition of gender should also include de-pathologising gender variance, but before it is removed as diagnosis from the DSM, resources and assistance enabled by its diagnosis should be readily available so as not to create further obstacles for an already marginalised group. Awareness is vital if stigmatising and discrimination are to be reduced. It is important that awareness be generated and resources be made available, with a special focus to include disadvantaged communities. There is an urgent need for literature within a South African context so that interventions can be designed to assist parents (and loved ones) of transgendered children. This is particularly important since support from parents have consistently been found to reduce both depression and suicide rates of transgendered children. Within a diverse South African context, it is also essential to determine how gender discrimination intersects with various other forms of discrimination pertaining aspects of identity such as religion, spirituality, ethnicity, race and culture. There is a need for the South African government to address the lack with regards to implementation of gender policy with some urgency.

Magister Curationis - MCur / Nursing students’ clinical abilities are highly dependent on the quality of the clinical experience obtained, while placed in the clinical environment. The clinical environment has key role players, which include the clinical supervisor. The primary role of the clinical supervisor is to guide nursing students to become best practice nursing professionals. However, globally, literature alludes to the failure of educating institutions to deliver competent nursing professionals, to meet the needs of patients and deliver quality patient care. Anecdotal evidence at the participating university indicated the possibility that various factors such as high student supervisor ratio and increased workload for clinical supervisors may impact on the ability of the supervisors to function effectively in the clinical settings. At the participating university, this may have been due to various factors, such as large student numbers, as well as social and environmental challenges experienced by the clinical supervisors. The aim of this study was to explore and describe the lived experiences of clinical supervisors, who supervise nursing students at a higher education institution. The study employed a qualitative research approach, utilizing a descriptive phenomenological design. Purposive sampling was used to select eight (8) participants, who were all clinical supervisors of first and second-year nursing students at the HEI (Higher Education Institution) under study. Data was collected by means of in-depth interviews and analysed, using Tesch’s method of data analysis. The five (5) major themes identified, focused on the experiences of clinical supervisors regarding: time as a constraint to job productivity; the impact of the organisational culture on the fluidity of support; limited resources; interpersonal relationships as a dynamic communication process; and impact on the self. In this study, participants focused on their experience of clinical supervision as it related to time, the organisational culture, resources and the impact of the experience on the self. The researcher based on the findings concluded that clinical supervisors are generally satisfied with their jobs and they love the teaching role that they portray. They are unhappy with the circumstances, that they experiencing as challenging in which they must do their clinical supervisor job.

Magister Artium - MA / Breast cancer is a common cause of death among women worldwide. It has long been recognized as a major public health burden in high-income countries, however, the majority of cases are said to occur in low and middle-income countries, such as in South Africa. A breast cancer diagnosis and treatment heralds a series of frightening events and can be a traumatic experience. The manner in which women perceive and cope with their illness is predictive of emotional and physical health outcomes. It is thus imperative to explore the experiences of South African women, whose voices may have been silenced in the past. The purpose of my study was to explore the subjective lived experiences of women with early stage breast cancer undergoing treatment. The objectives of the study were to; explore the emotional experiences of women with early stage breast cancer undergoing treatment and secondly to explore how women perceive their bodies through their experience of early stage breast cancer while undergoing treatment. Phenomenology was used as the theoretical position conceptualising the study as well as the research design. This research study adopted a qualitative approach utilising in-depth face to face semi-structures interviews for collecting data. The participants were selected through purposive sampling and comprised six women aged between 30 and 40 who are undergoing treatment for early stage breast cancer. The data was analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Emotions experienced were characterised by the shock of the diagnosis due to factors such as lack of family history and age. Participants reported positive changes and viewpoints which they gained through their breast cancer journey. Emotions were heightened during treatment due to the physical change experienced and the effects this had on family members and the general public. Furthermore, results indicated that participants, even though they discovered a new found love for life and for their wellbeing, neglected their emotional needs in order to protect family members. An additional reason for this neglect centered on the lack of understanding other individuals may have regarding the experiences of participants. Recommendations involves the encouragement of accessing counselling services and that interventions tailored to the needs of each patient especially according to age. All ethical considerations as stipulated by the University of the Western Cape were adhered to.

Class of 2011 Abstract / OBJECTIVES: To assess the effectiveness of the institutional objectives for the Introductory to Pharmacy Practice Experience (IPPE) course at the University of Arizona, College of Pharmacy. METHODS: This observational study included 83 first-year PharmD students, of which 36 were enrolled in the IPPE course during the Spring 2009 semester. At the beginning and end of the semester, each student was given a multiple-choice test with questions related to the institutional objectives for the IPPE course. At the end of the semester, the tests were scored and the pre- and post-tests were matched for each student. RESULTS: No significant difference was found between the pre- and post-test scores, although most students had an improved score on the post-test. Of the students in IPPE, test scores were divided based on the type of practice site attended. No difference was found for the pre- or post-test scores between the different practice sites (p>0.1 for all comparisons) and a medium impact was found between community and hospital practice settings (affect size = 0.49). CONCLUSION: It was concluded that although student competencies improved over the course of the semester, participation in the IPPE course during the first-year of pharmacy school did not significantly contribute to this improvement.

Amidst our ableist social world, there are people with disabilities who are living the lives they want to be living and are, so-to-speak, “doing their own thing.” This project focuses on what a few young adult women attribute as having helped them get to where they are today. There were two overarching open-ended research questions guided this project: (1) what opportunities and experiences have influenced the four women with physical and mobility disabilities in terms of getting to where they are today? And (2) how have these opportunities and experiences helped and/or challenged them along their journeys? The study analyzes responses from semistructured interviews with four young women with physical disabilities. Participants’ responses suggest that growing up in supportive environments (family, friends, other people with disabilities) that foster a sense of disability pride helped participants adopt similar perspectives on disability. I argue that participants learned to understand disability as a valued form of social diversity in large part from their parents and from experiences that allowed them to interact with other young people with disabilities. Additionally, strategic positivity and persistence are two ways that help participants cope with the day-to-day ableism and anti-disability microaggressions that they experience.

People who have been diagnosed HIV positive often experience distress and anxiety due to uncertainties pertaining to the implications of an HIV positive status. These individuals are often reluctant to seek counselling and treatment due to the fear of being rejected and discriminated against (Parker, et al., 2002). There are limited formal networks for HIV support and psychological help in the South African context. Considering this, structured support groups were implemented for recently diagnosed HIV positive pregnant women. These women were recruited from ante natal clinics in Atteridgeville and Mamelodi as part of the Serithi project. Six support groups were implemented and facilitated by various experts including Masters students, of whom the researcher was part. This project is part of the larger study of the Serithi project in which interviews were conducted with three hundred and seventeen HIV positive pregnant women from disadvantaged locations of Tshwane. Based on these interviews, a support group intervention was developed. This research forms part of the evaluation of the support group intervention. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of women who attended the support groups. Women who had attended 7-10 sessions were selected and interviewed individually using semi-structured interviews. With the permission of the participants, the discussions were tape recorded and transcribed. The data was analyzed, using qualitative research methods, from an interpretative phenomenological approach. This involved systematically studying meanings, themes and general descriptions of experiences by the research participants. The main findings in this study showed that women who participated in support groups adopted positive coping and behaviour that is conducive to their livelihood, learned more about HIV and AIDS, seem to have a positive future outlook and are overall empowered. These findings support previous research and literature in regards to the importance of social support in the form of support groups in effectively assisting HIV positive women in their journey to adjust to psychosocial consequence of the disease. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Psychology / unrestricted

More than 770 000 employees in South Africa have been made redundant since the start of the economic crisis in the third quarter of 2008. Unfortunately, companies often do not anticipate, or prepare for, the lower morale and lower productivity experienced by the survivors. However, despite the fact that retrenchment survivors are the linchpin of a company‟s future profitability, limited research on their experiences is available in South Africa. Until recently, the survivors of retrenchment were considered fortunate and the general consensus is that survivors are grateful to have kept their jobs. But is it really that simple? The study explores the perceptions and experiences of survivors of retrenchment in the automotive industry. The study was conducted among retrenchment survivors operating at junior management, middle management and senior management roles in various functional areas in an Automotive Manufacturer in South Africa. Qualitative data was collected by means of conducting semi-structured interviews, which provided insight into the beliefs, attitudes, perceptions and experiences of the participants, as well as by the analysis of company documents. Following an in-depth analysis based on constructivist grounded theory guidelines, survivor denial in varied manifestations emerged as the core concept. This core concept was underpinned by the survivors‟ overall perception of the retrenchment experience, the affective and behavioural responses of survivors, as well some aggravating factors. The result of the analysis is a framework for understanding survivor experiences during retrenchments, as well as suggested interventions for organisations that are contemplating, or have already commenced with retrenchments to reduce the anticipated negative effects of the retrenchment process. This study demonstrates that retrenchment brings to the fore a multitude of inadequately understood emotional reactions and that, if retrenchment is not properly implemented and managed, can result in a significant amount of stress. Appropriate analysis of individual responses and the facilitation of constructive coping strategies is the starting point towards more effective intervention. Copyright / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Human Resource Management / unrestricted

Voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) has become a vital process in combating the spread of HIV/AIDS. Yet little has been published on how students experience the process of VCT. This study sought to describe and understand the experiences of voluntary counselling and testing among four students at Tshwane University of Technology. This research project focussed on students’ experiences when reporting for voluntary counselling and testing. The results were used to make recommendations for strategies to increase the accessibility and uptake of VCT by students. Using a phenomenological approach, tape recorded interviews were conducted with the four students of Tshwane University of Technology (TUT). The data were then categorised into five themes relating to the experience of VCT: emotions, perceptions, actions, thoughts and desires. The results showed that the students were mostly dissatisfied with the VCT clinic’s procedures and the counsellor’s attitudes. Also evident from this study was that counsellors’ professionalism, peer support, and a service that offers both pre- and post-test counselling play a significant role in students’ use of VCT. The findings of this study suggest that the following could be used as strategies to motivate students to utilise VCT services of VCT: (1) increase access and acceptability of VCT for students; (2) ensure access to factual information in the form of counselling; (3) make counselling a priority. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Psychology / unrestricted

This study represents a shift in focus with regard to studies related to mentorship. It endeavours to go beyond documenting the prevalence of mentorship to understanding the experiences of mentors and factors that encourage participation in mentorship programmes. The purpose of this study was to describe and understand the experiences of mentors during the implementation of a mentorship programme at a Higher Education Institution (HEI). The purpose of this study, has guided the following two questions for the current study: <ul> <li> How do mentors experience the implementation of a mentorship programme?</li> <li> How can the understanding of such experiences inform theory on mentorship programmes in Higher Education Institutions?</li> </ul> I made use of a case study research design. Four participants were purposively selected for this study based on their potential to provide data relevant for the study as they were part of the recently ended mentorship programme. Data was collected over a period of a week by means of semi-structured interviews and reflections. In this study I made use of qualitative approach, and a thematic method of analysis was used for identifying, analysing and reporting themes. The results of the study indicated the following results: <ul> <li> Mentors had a general definition of their mentorship experiences as personal life event(s).</li> <li> When mentorship was viewed as a personal life event, it was found to have an emotional aspect which creates a platform for learning and development.</li> <li> Positive experiences, as mentioned by participants in this study, included an opportunity for personal growth and development, how mentors and mentees benefited from being part of the mentorship programme, and positive relationships between mentors and their mentees.</li> <li> Negative experiences referred to by participants included difficulties of correspondence between mentors and mentees, lack of mentee attendance at mentorship meetings, gender and racial issues and mentors' uncertainties about what to do in the programme and feeling a lack of guidance.</li> <li> Decisions regarding exclusion and inclusion criteria of mentees into the programme, support from mentorship supervisors and finding mentors who demonstrate good qualities were identified as challenges in mentorship implementation.</li> </ul> / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Educational Psychology / unrestricted

 Bakgrund Schizofreni är en kronisk psykisk sjukdom som har stor påverkan på patientens beteende, tankar och känslor.  Syfte Litteraturstudiens syfte är att beskriva sjuksköterskors upplevelser och erfarenheter av att arbeta med schizofreni patienter samt att beskriva hur de valda artiklarna beskriver urvalsmetod.  Metod Litteraturstudien baserades på totalt 11 kvalitativa och kvantitativa artiklar. Litteratursökningen gjordes i databaserna PubMed, Cinahl and PsycInfo.  Huvudresultat Sjuksköterskan har en stor roll när det gäller att stödja patienten till sjukdomsinsikt samt vid kommunikationen med patienten. Sjuksköterskans observationsförmåga gynnar sjukdomstillståndet samt supporten som sjuksköterskan visar till patienten betyder mycket under omvårdnadsperioden. Att tro på patienten kan resultera till positiva upplevelser båda för sjuksköterskor och patienter. Bra kommunikationsförmågan hjälper sjuksköterskan att bygga starka relationer med patienter. Sjuksköterskor visar båda positiva och negativa attityder mot schizofrena patienter men bemötandet kan hjälpa att förstärka eller försvåra relationer mellan sjuksköterskor, patienter och deras anhöriga.  Diskussion Patientens sjukdomstillstånd och relationen till anhöriga och sjuksköterskan påverkas av sjuksköterskans kompetens och förmåga samt attityder. Olika arbetssituationer, arbetsmiljöer och arbetsrelationer påverkar hur sjuksköterskor upplever deras arbete och vilka erfarenheter de har angående att arbeta med schizofrena patienter.  Slutsatser Det är viktigt att omvårdnaden till patienter med schizofreni ska ses som helhet. Sjuksköterskan ska ha bra kunskaper och förmåga för att kunna ge en bra omvårdnad så att patienten kan når sin välmående. Sjuksköterskor har behov av att vidare utbilda sig och få tillräcklig bra kunskap angående schizofreni som kan resultera till en god omvårdnad. /  Background: Schizophrenia is a chronic psychiatric sickness which has a big effect on the patient´s behavior, thoughts and feelings.  Aim: This study´s aim was to describe nurses` experience working with people who have schizophrenia diagnose and to describe how the articles shows the selection for the method.  Method: This literature study was based on contains a total of 11 qualitative and quantitative articles. The data collection was done using PubMed, Cinahl and PsycInfo databases.  Main Results: The nurse has a big role in helping the patient understand the patient’s sickness and also during communication. The nurse´s ability to observe and give support at the period of the sickness mean a lot for the patient during the caring process. Believing in the patient leads to a positive result for both the nurse and the patient. A good ability to communicate can help improve the relationship between the nurse and the patient. Nurses’ show both positive and negative attitudes towards patients with schizophrenia but the meetings can help to strengthen relations between nurses, patients and their relatives.  Discussion: The patient’s understanding of the sickness as well as the relation with the families and the nurse is greatly affected by the nurse´s competence, ability and attitude. The different kind of job situations, environment and relationships influences nurses’ experiences working the schizophrenia patients.  Conclusion: It is important to see that the caring procedure of the patients with schizophrenia is a whole process. The nurse needs to have good competence and ability in order to give the patient good and quality at the care. The nurses needs to learn more to in order to achieve a good competence about schizophrenia which can lead to a good result of the caring process.