D.Cur. (Community Nursing Science) / Aggression becomes such a part of people’s daily lives that it is viewed as normal. As in the society nursing students at a higher education institution (HEI) also experience aggression in their lives. This exposure to aggression is of concern as it can be a possible obstacle in the personal and professional development and interpersonal relationships of the nursing students. The essence of this concern is that nurse educators need to gain knowledge of, insight into and awareness of the aggression experienced by nursing students to empower these students to manage aggression in their lives. The purpose of this study was to develop and describe a model as a frame of reference to facilitate the health of nursing students at an HEI in Johannesburg, South Africa, who experience aggression in their lives. The objectives of this study were as follows:  To explore and describe the experience of nursing students at an HEI in Johannesburg of aggression in their lives.  To generate a model from the results that will facilitate the promotion of health of the nursing students at an HEI in Johannesburg who have experienced aggression.  To formulate strategies for the implementation of the model.The research design was theory-generative, qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual in nature. Nursing students were purposefully sampled as they added to the richness of the data collected for the purpose of this research. Data was collected firstly through respondents drawing a picture and writing a self-reporting story, and secondly, through phenomenological interviews. Data analysis in this research was done by means of Tesch’s method of identifying themes and categories as described by Creswell. Ethical considerations were adhere to throughout the research and consent was obtained from the nursing students participating in the research. Lincoln and Guba’s method of trustworthiness was used. Two themes with categories were identified that reflected the nursing students’ experience of aggression in their lives. The first theme is that the nursing students experienced aggression as an integral part of their life and viewed it as a normal part of their life. The second theme is that nursing students experienced aggression as detrimental to themselves as a whole person and their interpersonal relationships. A model as a frame of reference to facilitate the health of the nursing students who have experienced aggression to self-manage aggression constructively,was developed. The findings of this research are relevant to the world of nursing practice, nursing education and research.

D.Cur. (Psychiatric Nursing Science) / The researcher was involved in the clinical accompaniment of student nurses working with mentally challenged individuals during their psychiatric nursing practical training. In her role as advanced psychiatric nurse educator, she noticed that student nurses experienced working with mentally challenged individuals as a challenging working context. It created intense emotional discomfort for the student nurses, especially during their initial exposure to the relevant individuals. During the student nurses' last day of working with these individuals, they reflected with the advanced psychiatric nurse educator on their emotional growth and enrichment and how this experience had changed their views of life. Ineffective management of emotional discomfort may lead to emotional exhaustion or burnout and reflect negatively on a person's mental health. The main purpose of this research was to explore and describe the experiences of student nurses working with mentally challenged individuals. Subsequently, to develop, describe and write guidelines to operationalise and evaluate a model for the advanced psychiatric nurse educator to facilitate the mental health of student nurses working with mentally challenged individuals. A qualitative, explorative, descriptive, contextual and theory-generating research design was utilised to achieve the abovementioned purpose. The development of the model comprised four steps. Step one consisted of a concept analysis including identification and definition of central concepts in the model. A concept analysis was done by exploring and describing the experiences of student nurses working with mentally challenged individuals. Two focus groups, naive sketches, reflective journals, a reflective letter and field notes were used to explore their experiences. Focus groups were audiotaped as well as videotaped. Verbal consent was given by the student nurses to be videotaped and a letter of consent was signed to give permission for audiotaping of the focus groups. The audio tapes were transcribed verbatim. The video tapes were only used by the transcriber when she could not hear the sound on the audio tapes clearly. An independent coder utilised Tesch's method of open-coding to code and analyse the data. A consensus was reached between the researcher and the independent coder with regard to the themes and catogories represented by the data. During the concept analysis, engagement on a deeper emotional level was identified as the central concept. Step two consisted of the relationship statements of the model. During step three, a model for the facilitation of a process of engagement on a deeper emotional level for student nurses working with mentally challenged individuals was described. The structure of the model clarified the purpose, assumptions and context. The central concepts were defined and the relationship statements between the central and essential concepts were explained. The structure of the model focused on the relationship-, workingand termination phases within the process of engagement on a deeper emotional level. In step four guidelines were described to operationalise the model in practice. The model, as framework of reference for the advanced psychiatric nurse educator, focused on the facilitation of a process of engagement on a deeper emotional level for student nurses working with mentally challenged individuals. The process description of the model differentiated between three phases: the relationship phase, the working phase and the termination phase. Guidelines for the operasionalisation of the model focused on the objective of each phase as well as the strategy of actions for each different phase.

The use of simulation as a clinical learning activity is growing in nursing programs across the country. Using simulation, educators can provide students with a realistic patient situation using mannequins or actors as patients in a simulated environment. Students can practice multiple aspects of patient care without the risk of making mistakes with real patients, and faculty can reinforce course objectives and evaluate student learning. Because of the technology, the environment, and the methods by which simulation is implemented, it may cause anxiety in learners, which may interfere with the learning process. Anxious students may miss an opportunity for learning valuable aspects of nursing care that are reinforced in simulation. This paper will describe a study of the student perspective on simulation, particularly related to the anxiety experienced by many learners. Nursing students in a baccalaureate program who participate in simulation in their clinical courses were recruited for the study, which consisted of a survey and a focus group. Participants were asked to rate nineteen aspects of simulation in regards to the feelings they elicit, from confidence to anxiety. The survey, completed by 73 of the 178 eligible participants, also included open-ended questions in which students could elaborate on their responses. A focus group was held after the survey, during which nine volunteer participants were asked further questions about their feelings and reactions in simulation, specifically as related to their effect on learning. During a facilitated discussion, they also offered suggestions for interventions that they believed would decrease their anxiety and improve the learning environment in simulation. After an analysis of the data, a "comfort-stretch-panic" model (Palethorpe & Wilson, 2011) emerged as a useful framework for understanding the student perspective. Students in the "stretch" zone, in which they perceived a manageable amount of stress, were motivated to perform and experienced optimal learning from the simulation session. The student suggestions for interventions which would aid their learning may be useful for transitioning them into the "stretch" zone, and should be considered as potential tools in simulation practice.