Text in English / The purpose of the study was to describe and explore the experiences of student nurses in caring for mental health users with profound intellectual disabilities in one of the care and rehabilitation centre at Gauteng province incorporating the Common Sense Model. Qualitative descriptive and explorative research was conducted to explore the experiences of student caring for mental health care users with profound intellectual disabilities and to recommend the best practices in caring for mental health care users with profound intellectual disabilities. Data collection was done using reflective diaries and in depth interviews. Twelve participants participated in the study. The study composed of student nurses (n=12) caring for mental health care users with profound intellectual disabilities. Five themes emerged from the study i.e. emotionally challenging, communication difficulties, lack of knowledge on the nature of intellectual disability, burden of care and mixed feelings. Findings of the study revealed that completing nurses find working with profound intellectual disabilities to be emotionally challenging and that negative experiences outweigh the positive experiences, resulting in their reluctance to want to work with profound intellectual disability users. It is therefore incumbent upon policy makers and hospital administrators to take cognisance of these negative feelings so that ways of minimising these frustrations and promoting the wellbeing of nurses caring for mental health care users with profound intellectual disabilities are promoted. / Health Studies / M.A. (Health Studies)

The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the experiences of Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) nursing candidates related to the four-year comprehensive nursing training programme at a Nursing Education Institution in Gauteng. To this end an exploratory descriptive qualitative research design was undertaken. The research sample comprised of 13 purposefully selected participants. Face-to-face individual interviews, using open-ended questions (Grand tour), were used to collect data, which was analysed using Tesch’s approach. Findings from the study highlighted the challenges faced by nursing RPL candidates as adult students. These included challenges related to their theoretical learning as well as their clinical facility experiences. Based on the study results, recommendations were formulated in assisting them to successfully and timeously complete their nursing programme / Health Studies / M.A. (Nursing Science)

Text in English / The purpose of the study was to describe and explore the experiences of student nurses in caring for mental health users with profound intellectual disabilities in one of the care and rehabilitation centre at Gauteng province incorporating the Common Sense Model. Qualitative descriptive and explorative research was conducted to explore the experiences of student caring for mental health care users with profound intellectual disabilities and to recommend the best practices in caring for mental health care users with profound intellectual disabilities. Data collection was done using reflective diaries and in depth interviews. Twelve participants participated in the study. The study composed of student nurses (n=12) caring for mental health care users with profound intellectual disabilities. Five themes emerged from the study i.e. emotionally challenging, communication difficulties, lack of knowledge on the nature of intellectual disability, burden of care and mixed feelings. Findings of the study revealed that completing nurses find working with profound intellectual disabilities to be emotionally challenging and that negative experiences outweigh the positive experiences, resulting in their reluctance to want to work with profound intellectual disability users. It is therefore incumbent upon policy makers and hospital administrators to take cognisance of these negative feelings so that ways of minimising these frustrations and promoting the wellbeing of nurses caring for mental health care users with profound intellectual disabilities are promoted. / Health Studies / M.A. (Health Studies)

The question the researcher set out to answer during this research is: How is a caring concern maintained by the (student nurse) as caregiver? It stemmed from unresolved plausible hypotheses stated during a previous qualitative study into the phenomenon caring, from media reports on the "poor care" rendered in health institutions in South Africa, and a concern about the Tylerian rationale in nursing education. The theory generation required was achieved through Wertz's Empirical Psychological Reflection and existential phenomenology. Heidegger's theory of"Care as the essence of being" constituted a central concept in this research. A linguistic epistemology and expanded definition of the term empirical were also pertinent in this research. The literature review focussed on the methodology, ontology (caring and maintenance) and epistemology, serving a purpose towards bracketing. A purposive sample of informants was extracted according to students' performance on the Personal Orientation Inventory (POI). Sixteen qualitative research interviews were conducted. Analysis was conducted through open coding, categorisation and axial coding. At the idiographic level, twelve individual psychological profiles were constructed serving the purpose of imaginative variation. At the nomothetic level four major themes emerged, namely: The Caring Phenomenon (Contextualisation); Factors Eroding a Caring Concern; Factors in the Maintenance of a Caring Concern; and Core Experiences. The dialogue among the four intra-psychic processes of Care, will, meaning attribution and conscience accounts for all events encountered in the data. This dialogue results in either reason or intuition, displaying caring and the maintenance of a caring concern. Positing will and conscience as thesis and antithesis, the resulting synthesis postulates the basic ethical concepts of autonomy, authority, responsibility and accountability as existentially inherent to being and existence, and to the maintenance of a caring concern. The final manifestation of the object ofintention, maintenance, is proposed as an anthropological model. When extended to the fields of (nursing) education, human motivation and the teaching of (nursing) ethics, emotional intelligence, social intelligence, the self-science curriculum and life-skills training become imperative to (nursing) curricula. It is also proposed that human caring be studied as a manifestation of human motivation. / Health Studies / D. Litt et Phil. (Advanced Nursing Sciences)

The purpose of this study was to determine the contribution of unit managers towards the training of student nurses coming to their units for clinical practica. The sample consisted of students training in the four nursing colleges in the Cape Peninsula, and unit managers working in health services accommodating students for clinical practica in the same area. The findings revealed that the majority of unit managers were teaching students whenever they had the opportunity. Generally unit managers were prepared for their teaching function, but many students were not satisfied with some clinical learning opportunities presented to them, for example drawing up patients' care plans, discussing patients' treatment plans when handing over report, giving assistance regarding patient care decisions and lending support when students are confronted with patient care problems. There appears to be a need to educate unit managers regarding these and other aspects of the students' training programme. / Health Studies / M.A. (Nursing Science)

The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the experiences of Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) nursing candidates related to the four-year comprehensive nursing training programme at a Nursing Education Institution in Gauteng. To this end an exploratory descriptive qualitative research design was undertaken. The research sample comprised of 13 purposefully selected participants. Face-to-face individual interviews, using open-ended questions (Grand tour), were used to collect data, which was analysed using Tesch’s approach. Findings from the study highlighted the challenges faced by nursing RPL candidates as adult students. These included challenges related to their theoretical learning as well as their clinical facility experiences. Based on the study results, recommendations were formulated in assisting them to successfully and timeously complete their nursing programme / Health Studies / M.A. (Nursing Science)

Nursing colleges face a high failure rate among first and second year nursing students. Appropriate selection criteria should help to recruit and select the best suitable candidates who will endure the requirements of the comprehensive four-year nursing diploma course and finally graduate. The input should be equal to the throughput. The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the extent to which selection criteria were a determinant or predictive factor of nursing students’ academic performance and success at a nursing colleges in Gauteng Province. A triangulated research design method was used for data collection, presentation, and analysis. The research population consisted of first and second year student nurses registered in public nursing college. Random sampling was opted for at the nursing college selected as research site. During the empirical phase in 2015, 280 questionnaires were distributed. The findings of the study indicated that there is a weak linear relation between academic qualification and academic performance, yet further analysis showed that there is a significant relationship between Bachelor’s degree holders and their academic achievement when admitted at nursing colleges. / Health Studies / M.A. (Health Studies)

Within the nursing profession, the transition from the student to a graduate nurse is a common rite of passage that marks the end of initial educational preparation in the discipline and the beginning of a professional journey as a nurse and a member of the multidisciplinary team (Nash, Lemcke & Sacre. 2009:48). This is a period of adjustment, stress, growth and development and the transitional nurse is likely to feel uncomfortable, fearful and may experience feelings of inadequacy. This study was undertaken to explore and describe the experiences of final year nursing students at a public college of nursing in the Eastern Cape regarding their preparedness to become registered nurses, with the aim to identify gaps and make recommendations on strategies to close the gaps. The objectives were to explore and describe the experiences of final year nursing students at the public college of nursing in the Eastern Cape Province with regard to their preparedness to become registered nurses and to recommend strategies to improve the preparation of nursing students for transition to become registered nurses. To answer the research question “What are the experiences of final year nursing students at a public college of nursing in the Eastern Cape Province with regard their preparedness to become registered nurses”, a qualitative, explorative and descriptive design was used as a framework for the study. Data were collected by means of unstructured focus group interviews with a purposively selected sample of 27 final year nursing students at the particular college of nursing. Data were analysed using Tesch’s method of analysis for qualitative research. Two themes emerged, revealing that participants at the college experienced preparedness and lack of preparedness to assume the role of a professional nurse. This related to certain aspects that had an impact on the preparation of the final year nursing students for practice and included: curriculum-related aspects; clinical teaching and learning support; learning opportunities; interpersonal relationships between lecturers, students and clinical staff; equipment; and library resources. It was concluded that the learning needs of the nursing students were not adequately catered for, leading to lack of preparedness. Through the involvement of nursing students in the evaluation of their learning, shortfalls in both education and practice areas could therefore be detected. Recommendations regarding strategies to be used to promote preparedness of final year nursing students included: continuous feedback on student performance in the form of exit evaluations on the part of students to identify learning needs; writing of progress reports on the part of clinical practice; and the employment of clinical preceptors with clear role specifications between the lecturers, ward sisters and preceptors to avoid role confusion.

The focus of this study was to explore reasons for the failure of student nurses to present themselves for assessment of clinical skills at a public nursing college in the Eastern Cape. The objectives were to explore and describe reasons why these student nurses were not presenting themselves for such assessment of clinical skills; to develop strategies to motivate them to present themselves for clinical skills assessment; and to make recommendations for assessment of clinical skills. The population of the study was the second and the third-year student nurses undergoing a four-year comprehensive diploma course at a public college of nursing in the Eastern Cape. Non-probability convenience sampling was used. The research questions were, firstly, why the student nurses were not presenting themselves for assessment of clinical skills? Secondly, what recommendations could be made to motivate the student nurses to present themselves for clinical skills assessment? A qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual research design was used. Focus group interviews with six participants per group were used to collect data. The total number of participants five focus groups was 30 by the time data saturation was reached. Data were collected following the research question, “Why are you not presenting yourselves for clinical skill assessment?” Their responses were recorded using audiotape and notes with the help of an experienced colleague. Data was analysed following Teschʼs method. Findings presented one theme, being the reason for students not presenting themselves for feedback or delaying to do so. Categories indicated that students were afraid and overwhelmed with anxiety; had too much work to do; unpreparedness for learnt skills; equipment and resources; lack of confidence; and busy ward schedules. Subcategories included lecturersʼ attitude; unfamiliarity to lecturers accompanying them; having to study to master a lot of theory; having to prepare for many tests; unavailability of lecturers to mentor them; unavailability of unit professional nurses to guide them; reluctance of patients to be used for practising skills; a tendency not to practise skills; too many students; being used as work force; placement objectives; use of dolls for demonstration; tools used to support learning making reference to obsolete equipment; all skills demonstrated at the same time; lecturers improvising when they are demonstrating some skills, and not being released for practising of skills. The focus of this study was to explore reasons for the failure of student nurses to present themselves for assessment of clinical skills at a public nursing college in the Eastern Cape. The objectives were to explore and describe reasons why these student nurses were not presenting themselves for such assessment of clinical skills; to develop strategies to motivate them to present themselves for clinical skills assessment; and to make recommendations for assessment of clinical skills. The population of the study was the second and the third-year student nurses undergoing a four-year comprehensive diploma course at a public college of nursing in the Eastern Cape. Non-probability convenience sampling was used. The research questions were, firstly, why the student nurses were not presenting themselves for assessment of clinical skills? Secondly, what recommendations could be made to motivate the student nurses to present themselves for clinical skills assessment? A qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual research design was used. Focus group interviews with six participants per group were used to collect data. The total number of participants five focus groups was 30 by the time data saturation was reached. Data were collected following the research question, “Why are you not presenting yourselves for clinical skill assessment?” Their responses were recorded using audiotape and notes with the help of an experienced colleague. Data was analysed following Teschʼs method. Findings presented one theme, being the reason for students not presenting themselves for feedback or delaying to do so. Categories indicated that students were afraid and overwhelmed with anxiety; had too much work to do; unpreparedness for learnt skills; equipment and resources; lack of confidence; and busy ward schedules. Subcategories included lecturersʼ attitude; unfamiliarity to lecturers accompanying them; having to study to master a lot of theory; having to prepare for many tests; unavailability of lecturers to mentor them; unavailability of unit professional nurses to guide them; reluctance of patients to be used for practising skills; a tendency not to practise skills; too many students; being used as work force; placement objectives; use of dolls for demonstration; tools used to support learning making reference to obsolete equipment; all skills demonstrated at the same time; lecturers improvising when they are demonstrating some skills, and not being released for practising of skills. The researcher concluded that students had valid reasons for not presenting themselves for assessment of clinical skills but this could be rectified through the involvement of lectures, ward staff as well as students themselves. The researcher recommended that effective communication between the staff in clinical areas and the college is needed. Clinical laboratories needed laboratory managers and had to be well equipped. A revision of the student-lecturer ratio form feed-back on skills is also suggested.The researcher concluded that students had valid reasons for not presenting themselves for assessment of clinical skills but this could be rectified through the involvement of lectures, ward staff as well as students themselves. The researcher recommended that effective communication between the staff in clinical areas and the college is needed. Clinical laboratories needed laboratory managers and had to be well equipped. A revision of the student-lecturer ratio for feed-back on skills is also suggested.

DNUR / Department of Advanced Nursing Science / See the attached abstract below