M.Cur. (Psychiatric Nursing) / Caring for intellectually disabled people can be demanding for student nurses who are still novices in the profession. To ensure optimal nursing care is received, student nurses must have both an understanding of and a positive attitude towards intellectually disabled people. Nursing intellectually disabled people is a challenge that can have an impact on a person‟s body, mind and spirit therefore, student nurses need to have the ability to deal with stressful situations and environments. Student nurses need to be prepared to care for patients with long-term challenges, such as intellectual disabilities. These patients require a caring relationship that facilitates an enhanced awareness of life and health experiences. The caring relationship also facilitates health and healing processes as it involves the authentic and genuine needs of patients. This research aimed to explore and describe lived experiences of student nurses caring for intellectually disabled people in a public psychiatric institution, and to formulate guidelines for the facilitation of mental health of these student nurses. A qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual design was used. Data were collected through individual in-depth interviews, focusing on the question “How was it for you to be working at this institution?” Thematic analysis was used to analyse the collected data and a consensus discussion was held with the independent coder. Ten participants were interviewed and five, who were not comfortable with interviews, wrote naïve sketches. Trustworthiness was assured by adhering to Lincoln and Guba‟s principles, that is, credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability. Four ethical principles were demonstrated throughout the research namely, principles of respect for autonomy, non-maleficence, beneficence, and justice. Three themes emerged from the data. Firstly, student nurses experience a profound unsettling impact on their wholistic being when caring for intellectually disabled people. iv Secondly, they develop a sense of compassion and a new way of looking at life, and lastly they require certain educational, emotional and spiritual needs to be met. Guidelines were formulated to facilitate the mental health of student nurses caring for intellectually disabled people in a public psychiatric institution.

Three hundred and eight nurse educators, who teach in NLN Accredited Bachelor of Science in Nursing Programs in the Midwest, were requested to complete a three-page survey concerning their perceptions and practices concerning student stress. The study demonstrated that nurse educators, in this study, were aware of the level of stress among students who were pursuing undergraduate degrees in nursing. The study found that most nurse educators understood that the sources of stress were a combination of the many roles and responsibilities of students. They were aware that most students needed services/interventions to assist them in coping with stress. Most nurse educators thought that they were responsible, to some degree, for intervening to assist students in decreasing their stress level. However, they expressed frustration at their attempts to help students. They indicated that many of the sources of stress were not within faculty control and that there was low participation when services/interventions were offered. Finally, the study found that most nurse educators thought that stress management for nursing students was included in the nursing curriculum. However, very little time was actually spent on stress management in the nursing program. Nurse educators indicated that they relied on other institutional services/interventions to provide stress management skills. However, many nurse educators indicated that they were willing to make changes to assist students. Nurse educators need to reconsider the amount of time that is spent facilitating students in reducing stress and helping them build coping skills that will continue to help them become competent nurses. Given the predicted nursing shortage that is estimated to last until 2020, the low application rate to nursing school, and the graying of America, it would seem prudent that nurse educators assist students who are in nursing programs become successful. The health of our nation may be at stake. The task for nurse educators is to help students recognize the signs of stress, understand the effects that unmanaged stress can produce, and teach the techniques that students can use in coping with stress. / Department of Educational Leadership

M.Cur. (Psychiatric Nursing Science) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.Cur. (Nursing Education) / Although all students planning to do the B.Cur.-degree at the Rand Afrikaans University are subjected to a selection procedure, the attrition rate for the course is considerable. In 1975, only nine of the original 23 students graduated, and in 1976 only ten of the original 31 students were able to complete the course. An attempt was made to evaluate the present selection process which consists of a slidingscale and a structured interview. The sample consisted of all students registering for the B.Cur.-degree from 1975 to 1980. Findings are based on data gathered from selection records and records of academic achievement as well as a structured interview with all applicants. The findings consist of the following - if the slidingscale is to be used in future, students in the catagories 50-59 and 60-69 may be reconsidered for entrance - in the catagories 90-99 and 100+, 46,9 per cent of the students resigned in their first year and research in this connection would be of value the fact that a course is selected as a major, does not seem to be related to academic success, especially during the first year of study - there seems to be a significant positive relationship between the structured interview and academic success. Although research of this specific nature has not yet been replicated, the findings could, however, be seen as representative of B.Cur. students in the Republic of South Africa.