M.Cur. (Nursing Science) / The primary objective of this study was to determine the emotional intelligence (EI) of, and make recommendations to facilitate an improvement in the EI of professional nurses commencing work in critical care units in private hospitals in Gauteng, South Africa. The quality of nursing care directly affects patient outcomes such as morbidity, mortality, adverse events as well as the total cost of care. This places the nurse central in good, comprehensive health care, especially in the critical care environment. Professional nurses starting in critical care consistently experience feelings of anxiety regarding their performance, related to the intensity of patient care, insufficient knowledge, extreme workload, role uncertainty, the feeling of being unsafe, making mistakes, having to work with new technology, as well as social acceptance in critical care with its unique working culture. Emotional labour is a big part of critical care, which leads us to explore emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence (EI) is the ability to monitor one’s own and others’ feelings, to discriminate among them, and to use this information to guide one’s thinking and actions. It also refers to the ability to identify, express, understand and regulate emotions. Though emotional skills are learnt during childhood, it can also be developed and changed later in life with age, experience and good role models or mentors. Nurses with a higher EI have more positive attitudes, greater adaptability, improved relationships, and increased orientation towards positive values. The question that arose was: what is the emotional intelligence of professional nurses starting in critical care for the first time?...

The purpose of this study was to investigate challenges experienced by nurses in the use of electronic whiteboards at one private hospital in the Gauteng province in South Africa. The researcher had observed a continuation of use of the manual dry-erase patient whiteboards in parallel to the use of new the electronic whiteboards in a ward, yet the electronic whiteboard had been implemented to replace the manual system in order to improve service delivery. A descriptive, quantitative study design was used for the study, with n=83 participants being voluntarily surveyed at the hospital over a one month period. The major findings were that the new electronic whiteboards were not always online which necessitated a parallel manual system as backup. Secondly, 47.5% of the respondents requested more training on the whiteboards. A needs assessment to determine training requirements and further investigation into the frequent unavailability of the electronic whiteboards is recommended / Health Studies / M.A. (Public Health - with specialisation in Medical Informatics)

The purpose of this study was to investigate challenges experienced by nurses in the use of electronic whiteboards at one private hospital in the Gauteng province in South Africa. The researcher had observed a continuation of use of the manual dry-erase patient whiteboards in parallel to the use of new the electronic whiteboards in a ward, yet the electronic whiteboard had been implemented to replace the manual system in order to improve service delivery. A descriptive, quantitative study design was used for the study, with n=83 participants being voluntarily surveyed at the hospital over a one month period. The major findings were that the new electronic whiteboards were not always online which necessitated a parallel manual system as backup. Secondly, 47.5% of the respondents requested more training on the whiteboards. A needs assessment to determine training requirements and further investigation into the frequent unavailability of the electronic whiteboards is recommended / Health Studies / M.A. (Public Health - with specialisation in Medical Informatics)

Recognising the enormous challenges in South Africa confronting the nursing of the mentally ill, the project was conducted in a public hospital in Gauteng. The purpose of the research was to describe professional nurses' perception of nursing mentally ill people in a general hospital setting and was carried out amongst a sample size of 124 professional nursing staff using a self-administered tool. The study looked at four different types of perceptions guided by categories of conceptual framework proposed by Mavundla (2000:1569-1570), namely perception of self, perception of patients, perception of environment and perceived feelings. The study found that the majority of professional nurses have a predominantly positive self- perception of nursing mentally ill people in a general hospital, although a significant number have a negative perception of patients, the nursing environment and perceived feelings. Lack of knowledge, skill and experience affect the nursing care of mentally ill people in the general hospital. / Health Studies / M.A. (Health Studies)

Recognising the enormous challenges in South Africa confronting the nursing of the mentally ill, the project was conducted in a public hospital in Gauteng. The purpose of the research was to describe professional nurses' perception of nursing mentally ill people in a general hospital setting and was carried out amongst a sample size of 124 professional nursing staff using a self-administered tool. The study looked at four different types of perceptions guided by categories of conceptual framework proposed by Mavundla (2000:1569-1570), namely perception of self, perception of patients, perception of environment and perceived feelings. The study found that the majority of professional nurses have a predominantly positive self- perception of nursing mentally ill people in a general hospital, although a significant number have a negative perception of patients, the nursing environment and perceived feelings. Lack of knowledge, skill and experience affect the nursing care of mentally ill people in the general hospital. / Health Studies / M.A. (Health Studies)

Text in English / This study explores and describes the perceptions of student nurses regarding professional nurses as role models in the clinical learning environment. An exploratory-descriptive qualitative approach was followed. The population for this study was the final year students in the programme: Bridging course for enrolled nurses leading to registration as a general nurse. Nonprobability, quota sampling was done. The study was conducted at two Gauteng campuses of a private nursing education institution. Two “World Café” conversations were conducted where after data saturation was achieved. The three major themes that emerged were professionalism of the professional nurse, the need for student support and the teaching and learning environment. From the students’ feedback it was evident that professional nurses should be aware of the important role they play in the professional and personal development of students. Professional nurses as role models should portray the professional behaviours and attitudes required by the profession. Students have a vision of how they expect to be when they qualify as professional nurses. Recommendations from this study relate to the three themes identified and clearly indicate that students have a realistic expectation of and a need for visible role models in the clinical learning environment. / Health Studies / M.A. (Health Studies)

Compassionate care is a crucial component of patient care in nursing practice in the broad context of holistic care. However, it is seemingly difficult for nurses to identify what exactly comprises compassionate care and how to provide it to patients. The purpose of the study was to explore the experiences of professional nurses on how they provide compassionate patient care. A qualitative descriptive study design based on narrative analysis was used. Thirteen professional nurses (PNs) from a private hospital were purposefully recruited to participate. Data was collected using written stories and professional lifelines. Data was analysed using thematic and narrative analysis. The following themes were identified such as treating the patient as a whole, inadequate knowledge and skills, and barriers to providing compassionate care. Future research using quantitative approach and large samples was recommended. / Health Studies / M.A. (Health Studies)

The National Health Act aims to protect the health care users and workers by ensuring that their work environments are protected against injuries. Practice environment is described as a physical, social and psychological characteristic of a work setting in which policies, procedures and systems are designed so that employees can meet the organisational objectives and achieve personal satisfaction in their work environment. The aim of the study was to describe and analyze characteristics of the practice environment of nurses. A quantitative descriptive study was conducted in a public hospital in Gauteng Province. Practice Environment Scale-Nursing Working Index (PES-NWI) questionnaires were distributed to 207 nurses who were proportionately stratified. Data was analysed using the SPSS version 25. Findings identified gaps of the current characteristics of the practice environment and developed strategies that will assist managers to enhance practice environment. There was alignment and correlation between the means, standard deviation and the frequencies which were drawn from the findings. The overall Cronbach’s alpha was 89% which confirmed the internal consistency of the instrument. The majority of the variables demonstrated statistical significance which had a p value of 0.001. In conclusion, practice environment affects all health care professionals although the study only analyzed the practice environment of nurses. / Health Studies / M. P. H.

The purpose of this study was to develop and test a measuring instrument based on the Gibb’s Defensive Communication Climate Paradigm (1961) to assess the communication climate focus of professional nurses in selected public hospitals in the Gauteng province. This focus involves the communication behaviour orientation of the professional nurses and their perceptions of the communication behaviour orientation of their operational managers. The Gibb’s model comprises six bipolar conceptual continuums, namely Evaluation-Description, Control-Problem orientation, Strategy-Spontaneity, Neutrality-Empathy, Superiority-Equality and Certainty-Provisionalism Continuums. The study consisted of a non-experimental design, including a developmental phase and a testing phase. During the developmental phase the researcher developed a measuring instrument (a Semantic Differential Scale questionnaire); used a simple, random sample method to pre-test the instrument; analysed the data by applying Cronbach’s Alpha reliability analysis and refined the instrument. Further refinement of this new instrument by future researchers is recommended. During the testing phase the researcher also used a simple, random sample, consisting of professional nurses (N = 270) from three selected public hospitals in Gauteng; tested the items against the biographical data and the three research questions and analysed the obtained data by utilising both descriptive and inferential statistics. A Delphi panel of experts were involved in both phases of the study. The results of the study indicated that although the respondents had a predominantly supportive communication behaviour orientation, they were more focused on the communication behaviour of their operational managers than on their own. Furthermore, the results indicated no significant differences in the influencing factors: age, tenure (periods in hospital), gender, language and institution (public hospital), in terms of the six conceptual continuums. Significant differences were found only in the factor: unit/ward, indicating that the supportiveness of the communication behaviour of professional nurses could be dependent on their specific work environment. Guidelines aimed at the development of a supportive climate were drawn up for the National Department of Health, Gauteng Department of Health, public hospitals, operational managers and professional nurses. It is recommended that implementation of the newly developed guidelines be pivotal for public hospitals, to refocus their communication climates towards supportive communication. / Health Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (Health Studies)

Text in English with abstracts in English, Northern Sotho, Tshivenda and Xitsonga / The purpose of this study was to determine the self-reported competence of newly qualified professional nurses on the critical midwifery skills. The study was conducted in the four public hospitals designated for community service in Gauteng Province. A quantitative descriptive design was used with a structured self-report questionnaire as data collection instrument. Non-probability convenience sampling was used for the study. The sample size was eighty-four newly qualified professional nurses. The Stata 15 software was used for statistical analyses. The researcher used descriptive statistics to describe and synthesize the collected data. The findings revealed that most newly qualified professional nurses had no knowledge in identifying different types of decelerations, management of late and variable decelerations, but had knowledge in most of the skills related to management of third stage of labour. / Maikemišetšo a dinyakišišo tše e be e le go hwetša bokgoni bja go ipega ka nnoši bja baoki bao ba ithutetšego profešene ya booki ka go bokgoni bjo bohlokwa bja pelegišo. Dinyakišišo di dirilwe dipetleleng tše nne tša bohle tšeo di kgethetšwego tirelo ya setšhaba ka Profenseng ya Gauteng. Khwanthitheitif diskriptif disaene ‘Quantitative descriptive design’ e dirišitšwe gammogo le lenaneopotšišo leo le beakantšwego la go ipega ka nnoši ‘structured self-report questionnaire’ bjalo ka sedirišwa sa go kgoboketša bohlatsi. “Non-probability convenience sampling” e dirišitšwe mo go kgetheng banyakišišwa. Bogolo bja sešupo e be e le baoki ba masomeseswai-nne ba baswa bao ba ithutetšego profešene ya booki. “Stata 15 software” e dirišitšwe tshekatshekong ya dipalopalo. Monyakišiši o dirišitše dipalopalo tša tlhalošo ‘descriptive statistics’ go hlaloša le go kopanya ‘data’ yeo e kgobokeditšwego. Ditšweletšo di utollotše gore bontši ba baoki ba baswa bao ba ithutetšego profešene ya booki ga ba na le tsebo ya go hlatha mehuta yeo e fapanego ya diphokotšo, taolo ya diphokotšo tša morago le tša go fetoga, efela ba na le tsebo ka go bokgoni bjo bontši bjoo bo amanago le taolo ya kgato ya boraro ya lešoko. / Ndivho ya ngudo iyi yo vha u wanulusa nḓivho ya vhukoni ha iwe muṋe ya vhaongi vhaswa vha kha ḓi bvaho u phasa vhuongi uri vha na zwikili zwa ndeme zwa vhuongi vhubebisi u swika ngafhi. Ngudo iyi yo itwa kha zwibadela zwiṋa zwa muvhuso zwo ṋewaho u isa tshumelo zwitshavhani kha vunḓu ḽa Gauteng. Kha u kuvhanganya mafhungo muṱoḓisi o shumisa ngona ya u ṱalutshedza ya khwanthithethivi ho ṱanganyiswa na mbudziso dzo dzudzanyiwaho dzi bviselaho khagala kha iwe muṋe (structured self-report questionnaire). Vhunanguludzi ho shumiswaho kha ngudo iyi ho vha “Non-probability convenience”. Tshivhalo tsha vhashelamulenzhe vho nanguludzwaho tsho vha vhaongi vhaswa vha kha ḓibvaho u phasa vha fumalo ina. “The Stata 15 software” ndi tshishumiswa tsho shumiswaho kha u sengulusa mafhungo o kuvhanganywaho. Muṱoḓisisi o shumisa zwisiṱatisitika zwa u ṱalutshedza kha u ṱalutshedza na u dzudzanya mafhungo o kuvhanganyiwaho. Ngudo iyi yo bvisela khagala uri vhunzhi ha vhaongi vhaswa vha kha ḓi bvaho u phasa a vha na nḓivho ya u vhona tshaka dzo fhambanaho dza kurwele kwa mbilu ya ṅwana na u langa u lenga ha u rwa ha mbilu ya ṅwana zwo katela na u sa dzudzanyea fhethu huthihi ha kurwele kwa mbilu ya ṅwana, honeha vha na nḓivho ya zwikili zwi yelanaho na vhulanguli ha tshipiḓa tsha vhuraru tsha u beba. / Xikongomelo xa ndzavisiso lowu i ku kuma vuswikoti lebyi munhu a byi twisisaka hi vaongori lava ha ku thwaselaka tidyondzo ta vuongori eka swikili swa nkoka hi vusungukati. Ndzavisiso lowu wu endliwile eka swibedlhele swa mune swa mani na mani leswi yisaka vukorhokeri evanhwini eka Phurovhinsi ya Gauteng, laha ku tirhisiweke maendlelo ya tinhlayo lama hambanaka na swivutiso ku hlengeleta timhaka. Ku tirhisiwile xiphemu xo karhi xa vanhu ku kuma vuxokoxoko hi mayelano na vona hinkwavo. Xiphemu lexi tirhisiweke i xa nhlayo ya vaongori vo ringana makumenhungu-mune wa vaongori lawa ha ku thwaselaka tidyondzo ta vuongori. Ku tirhisiwile “stata software” ku hlela tinhlayo leti tirhisiweke. Mulavisisi u tirhisile tinhlayo, tinhlayonhlamuselo ku hlamusela no katsakanya mahungu lama a ma hlengeleteke. Leswi kumiweke swi paluxa leswaku vunyingi bya vaongori lava ha ku thwaselaka tidyondzo ta vuongori va hava vutivi byo hambanisa mabelo ya mbilu, ku hlawula ku hlwela no hambana ka mabelo ya mbilu, kambe va na vutivi eka swikili mayelana no lawula xiyimo xa vunharhu xo lumiwa. / Health Studies / M.A. (Nursing)