In South Africa professional nurses undergo training which gives them different levels of skills. It is difficult for professional nurses to render comprehensive primary health care services without specific knowledge and skills. Some lack skills in preventative and promotive health care delivery; others are not trained to take care of a pregnant woman or a baby after delivery, or of a mental health patient; while yet others are only curatively oriented. It is possible that they do not recognise their own limitations and are not aware of the skills needed to render comprehensive primary health care services. Their perceptions could influence their practice and severely affect the quality of health services. The aim of this research was to explore and describe the perceptions that professional nurses working in primary health care clinics have of the skills required to render quality comprehensive primary health care services, and the perceptions they have of their own level of skills to render quality comprehensive primary health care services, as well as to formulate guidelines for the facilitation of trained professional nurses to truly render quality comprehensive primary health care services. A qualitative design was followed. Permission was obtained from the Potchefstroom District Health Manager to conduct this research. Purposive voluntary sampling was used to identify the three samples who complied with the set selection criteria. Data collection was done by means of semi-structured interviews. Experts in qualitative research evaluated the semi-structured interview schedule. A trial run was done and the interview schedule was then finalised to conduct the interviews. The interviews were recorded on audiotape and then transcribed. The interviewer made field notes to serve as an analytical basis for the collected data. Data was collected until data saturation was achieved. Data analysis was done by means of open coding. A co-coder was appointed and two consensus meetings took place. The findings indicated that professional nurses perceive the skills required to render quality comprehensive primary health care services as the ability to assess, diagnose and manage patients, as well as specific skills acquired during the various nurse training programmes. The more comprehensively trained, the more competent they feel. The less comprehensively trained, the more negative they experience their work. They view their own level of skills as ranging from adequate to lacking and inadequate, depending on their training. They feel that it is impo~ant to develop skills ranging from computer skills to the full range of skills. The conclusions drawn are that the professional nurses with different training and levels of skills are well aware of the skills required to re.nder comprehensive primary health care services. They maintain that trained professional nurses need qualifications in General Nursing, Midwifery, Community Nursing, Psychiatric Nursing and Clinical Nursing Science, and Health Assessment, Treatment and Care. The professional nurses with all five qualifications feel confident and enjoy their work, whereas those who are not fully trained lack certain skills and experience negative feelings working in the primary health care clinics. Recommendations are made for nursing education, nursing research and nursing practice with specific reference to the formulation of guidelines for the facilitation of trained professional nurses to truly render comprehensive primary health care services, with a focus on quality control, orientation, mentoring, planning of training, support systems, and consultancy. / Thesis (M.Cur.)--Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education, 2003

Professional nurses and their patients are directly influenced by insufficient medication, causing a decrease in the quality of care, delays in hospitalisation and it might lead to resistance. In some cases professional nurses have to leave the unit in search of medicine. Amoxicillin-clavulanic acid 1.2 gram for intravenous administration is prescribed to the majority of patients in the medical units in public South African hospitals. Yet there are intermitted insufficient stock levels and challenged inventory systems for amoxicillin-clavulanic acid 1.2 gram in some public hospitals. This fact is positioned against the background of a South African health system that has undergone major changes since the fall of Apartheid in 1994 and amidst major positive changes, is still challenged by overburdened hospital admissions and a quadruple disease burden. The aim of this research was to enhance optimal levels of amoxicillin-clavulanic acid 1.2 gram in medical units in public hospitals to ensure sufficient stock levels and timeous administration. The aim was achieved by identifying and describing the current supply chain of intravenous amoxicillin-clavulanic acid 1.2 gram in two medical units in a district (level 2) public hospital in the North West Province (from here referred only as North West) by identifying inefficiencies in the current supply chain and to formulate recommendations for management to enhance the supply chain of intravenous amoxicillin-clavulanic acid 1.2 gram to medical units in public hospitals. An exploratory case study approach was followed to explain the supply chain of amoxicillin-clavulanic acid 1.2 gram by utilising a qualitative, descriptive, explorative and contextual design. A case study approach was chosen as it examined single units within the context of real life as environment, which in this case were medical units in a level two public hospital, North West. The case selection was motivated and described, followed by case records of policies and standard operational procedures. Field participants included all levels of nurses (professional, enrolled and auxiliary) in medical male and female units on day and night duty, and the head of pharmacy [n=8]. Non-probable, purposive sampling was conducted according to inclusion criteria after all levels of ethical clearance and consent were granted. Three semi-structured individual interviews followed, after which two focus groups were conducted. Thematic analysis of transcriptions was done, followed by an analysis of case records regarding where after all results were integrated. Results indicated complex organisational, unit-specific and behavioural challenges that impact on the supply chain management of amoxicillin-clavulanic acid 1.2 gram and insufficient stock levels are predominantly positioned within retailer and customer aspects of the supply chain. Despite well-formulated standard operational procedures, the realisation thereof lacks, implicating a greater need for managerial control. Recommendations were formulated for management to enhance the supply chain of amoxicillin-clavulanic acid 1.2 gram in medical units in public South African hospitals integrated with good pharmacy practices. The close collaboration, mutual respect and effective communication between health professionals in the multi-professional team are reiterated. / MCur, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Worldwide, patients who visit health-care facilities generally have to wait very long to be attended by physicians and professional nurses. In South Africa, the Cape Triage Score system was implemented with great success in Emergency departments in the Cape Metropole. In primary health-care clinics the concern is that patients have to wait too long for service delivery, even if they are very ill and need hospitalisation. In this research study the role of triage in reducing waiting times in primary health-care clinics was examined. The Cape Triage Score system that was used in Emergency departments in the private sector and also in public hospitals was adapted for a pilot intervention study. This was done to determine if the utilisation of this system can reduce the waiting times of patients visiting primary health-care clinics. The researcher utilised a quantitative design with an intervention, after measuring the baseline waiting time. The strategies applied included an exploratory, descriptive and contextual strategy. The study was carried out in three steps according to the objectives set for the study. Firstly, the baseline assessment of the current waiting times in two PHC clinics in a sub-district of the North West Province was done. A waiting-time survey checklist was used to determine the baseline waiting time of patients visiting primary health-care clinics. These waiting-time survey checklists consisted of a few components that assessed different aspects of waiting time. The second objective was to explore and describe literature in order to understand primary health-care waiting times, triage and related constructs. The third objective was to pilot an adapted Cape Triage Score system to determine if the intervention contributed to reducing waiting times for patients visiting primary health-care clinics. Data was analysed according to Cohen’s effect sizes. The comparison between the baseline waiting times and pilot intervention waiting-time assessment was done according to Cohen’s effect sizes. The analysis of the data indicated a practical significance for the component where the pilot Cape Triage Score system was applied, as patients were referred to the physician and professional nurse according to the severity of their condition. The outcome of the study indicated no reduction in the overall waiting time of patients visiting primary health-care clinics due to the different components of the waiting-time survey checklist. Finally, the research was evaluated, limitations were identified and recommendations were stipulated for nursing practice, education, research and policy. / MCur, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

In South Africa professional nurses undergo training which gives them different levels of skills. It is difficult for professional nurses to render comprehensive primary health care services without specific knowledge and skills. Some lack skills in preventative and promotive health care delivery; others are not trained to take care of a pregnant woman or a baby after delivery, or of a mental health patient; while yet others are only curatively oriented. It is possible that they do not recognise their own limitations and are not aware of the skills needed to render comprehensive primary health care services. Their perceptions could influence their practice and severely affect the quality of health services. The aim of this research was to explore and describe the perceptions that professional nurses working in primary health care clinics have of the skills required to render quality comprehensive primary health care services, and the perceptions they have of their own level of skills to render quality comprehensive primary health care services, as well as to formulate guidelines for the facilitation of trained professional nurses to truly render quality comprehensive primary health care services. A qualitative design was followed. Permission was obtained from the Potchefstroom District Health Manager to conduct this research. Purposive voluntary sampling was used to identify the three samples who complied with the set selection criteria. Data collection was done by means of semi-structured interviews. Experts in qualitative research evaluated the semi-structured interview schedule. A trial run was done and the interview schedule was then finalised to conduct the interviews. The interviews were recorded on audiotape and then transcribed. The interviewer made field notes to serve as an analytical basis for the collected data. Data was collected until data saturation was achieved. Data analysis was done by means of open coding. A co-coder was appointed and two consensus meetings took place. The findings indicated that professional nurses perceive the skills required to render quality comprehensive primary health care services as the ability to assess, diagnose and manage patients, as well as specific skills acquired during the various nurse training programmes. The more comprehensively trained, the more competent they feel. The less comprehensively trained, the more negative they experience their work. They view their own level of skills as ranging from adequate to lacking and inadequate, depending on their training. They feel that it is impo~ant to develop skills ranging from computer skills to the full range of skills. The conclusions drawn are that the professional nurses with different training and levels of skills are well aware of the skills required to re.nder comprehensive primary health care services. They maintain that trained professional nurses need qualifications in General Nursing, Midwifery, Community Nursing, Psychiatric Nursing and Clinical Nursing Science, and Health Assessment, Treatment and Care. The professional nurses with all five qualifications feel confident and enjoy their work, whereas those who are not fully trained lack certain skills and experience negative feelings working in the primary health care clinics. Recommendations are made for nursing education, nursing research and nursing practice with specific reference to the formulation of guidelines for the facilitation of trained professional nurses to truly render comprehensive primary health care services, with a focus on quality control, orientation, mentoring, planning of training, support systems, and consultancy. / Thesis (M.Cur.)--Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education, 2003

Professional nurses and their patients are directly influenced by insufficient medication, causing a decrease in the quality of care, delays in hospitalisation and it might lead to resistance. In some cases professional nurses have to leave the unit in search of medicine. Amoxicillin-clavulanic acid 1.2 gram for intravenous administration is prescribed to the majority of patients in the medical units in public South African hospitals. Yet there are intermitted insufficient stock levels and challenged inventory systems for amoxicillin-clavulanic acid 1.2 gram in some public hospitals. This fact is positioned against the background of a South African health system that has undergone major changes since the fall of Apartheid in 1994 and amidst major positive changes, is still challenged by overburdened hospital admissions and a quadruple disease burden. The aim of this research was to enhance optimal levels of amoxicillin-clavulanic acid 1.2 gram in medical units in public hospitals to ensure sufficient stock levels and timeous administration. The aim was achieved by identifying and describing the current supply chain of intravenous amoxicillin-clavulanic acid 1.2 gram in two medical units in a district (level 2) public hospital in the North West Province (from here referred only as North West) by identifying inefficiencies in the current supply chain and to formulate recommendations for management to enhance the supply chain of intravenous amoxicillin-clavulanic acid 1.2 gram to medical units in public hospitals. An exploratory case study approach was followed to explain the supply chain of amoxicillin-clavulanic acid 1.2 gram by utilising a qualitative, descriptive, explorative and contextual design. A case study approach was chosen as it examined single units within the context of real life as environment, which in this case were medical units in a level two public hospital, North West. The case selection was motivated and described, followed by case records of policies and standard operational procedures. Field participants included all levels of nurses (professional, enrolled and auxiliary) in medical male and female units on day and night duty, and the head of pharmacy [n=8]. Non-probable, purposive sampling was conducted according to inclusion criteria after all levels of ethical clearance and consent were granted. Three semi-structured individual interviews followed, after which two focus groups were conducted. Thematic analysis of transcriptions was done, followed by an analysis of case records regarding where after all results were integrated. Results indicated complex organisational, unit-specific and behavioural challenges that impact on the supply chain management of amoxicillin-clavulanic acid 1.2 gram and insufficient stock levels are predominantly positioned within retailer and customer aspects of the supply chain. Despite well-formulated standard operational procedures, the realisation thereof lacks, implicating a greater need for managerial control. Recommendations were formulated for management to enhance the supply chain of amoxicillin-clavulanic acid 1.2 gram in medical units in public South African hospitals integrated with good pharmacy practices. The close collaboration, mutual respect and effective communication between health professionals in the multi-professional team are reiterated. / MCur, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Worldwide, patients who visit health-care facilities generally have to wait very long to be attended by physicians and professional nurses. In South Africa, the Cape Triage Score system was implemented with great success in Emergency departments in the Cape Metropole. In primary health-care clinics the concern is that patients have to wait too long for service delivery, even if they are very ill and need hospitalisation. In this research study the role of triage in reducing waiting times in primary health-care clinics was examined. The Cape Triage Score system that was used in Emergency departments in the private sector and also in public hospitals was adapted for a pilot intervention study. This was done to determine if the utilisation of this system can reduce the waiting times of patients visiting primary health-care clinics. The researcher utilised a quantitative design with an intervention, after measuring the baseline waiting time. The strategies applied included an exploratory, descriptive and contextual strategy. The study was carried out in three steps according to the objectives set for the study. Firstly, the baseline assessment of the current waiting times in two PHC clinics in a sub-district of the North West Province was done. A waiting-time survey checklist was used to determine the baseline waiting time of patients visiting primary health-care clinics. These waiting-time survey checklists consisted of a few components that assessed different aspects of waiting time. The second objective was to explore and describe literature in order to understand primary health-care waiting times, triage and related constructs. The third objective was to pilot an adapted Cape Triage Score system to determine if the intervention contributed to reducing waiting times for patients visiting primary health-care clinics. Data was analysed according to Cohen’s effect sizes. The comparison between the baseline waiting times and pilot intervention waiting-time assessment was done according to Cohen’s effect sizes. The analysis of the data indicated a practical significance for the component where the pilot Cape Triage Score system was applied, as patients were referred to the physician and professional nurse according to the severity of their condition. The outcome of the study indicated no reduction in the overall waiting time of patients visiting primary health-care clinics due to the different components of the waiting-time survey checklist. Finally, the research was evaluated, limitations were identified and recommendations were stipulated for nursing practice, education, research and policy. / MCur, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

O objetivo deste trabalho foi identificar as Representações Sociais dos profissionais enfermeiros, expressas nas situações em que a sexualidade do doente mental constitui um fato evidente, nas instituições prestadoras de assistência psiquiátrica. O recurso técnico-metodológico foi construído a partir das contribuições dos procedimentos projetivos, denominado Técnica de Investigação em Situações Cotidianas - T.S.C. O instrumento foi composto de dezesseis pranchas contendo reproduções gráficas da atuação cotidiana desse profissional, das quais utilizou-se somente seis, para a análise da sexualidade do doente mental. Dezessete enfermeiros que trabalham em hospital psiquiátrico de Ribeirão Preto fazem parte da amostra. Através de sua manifestação discursiva, verificou-se que o profissional enfermeiro nega a sexualidade do doente mental, circunscrevendo-a ao rol dos desvios, transgressões e doença (entre outros), na medida que para ele constituem de fato atos ilegítimos. Ao negar, adota uma posição de afastamento, em atitude ora repressiva, ora não repressiva e/ou defensiva. Tal posicionamento revela a estratégia adotada sobre esse saber e poder, na qual cumpre as determinações do seu estatuto profissional e vai de encontro às expectativas institucionais e sociais. / The objective of this research was to identify the Social Representations of Nursing professionals expressed in situations in which the sexuality of mental sick person makes up a visible fact, in psychiatric assistance institutions. The technical-methodological resourage was built up from contributions of projective procedures, called Investigation Technique in Daily Situations - I.T.D.S.. The instrument was composed by sixteen boards containing graphic reproductions of aily action of this professional from which it was selected only six boards to analyze the mental sick person?s sexuality. Seventeen nurses who work in psychiatric hospital in Ribeirão Preto composed the sample. Through their discursive manifestation we can know their Social Representations showring that they denies the mental sick person?s sexuality, restraining it as a deviation, misbehavior and a disease (among others), while it constitutes, in fact, a real illicit act. Doing this, they assume a position of distance, either reprehensive or non-reprehensive and/or defensive. This position reveals an adopted strategy about this knowledge and power, in which it fulfills the determinations of this professional code and then, meets the institucional and social expectations.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / Comparative analysis of the CPD systems internationally and nationally revealed that CPD is mandatory for some whilst for other countries it is compulsory, but not mandatory for licensing purposes. Licensing occurs on a yearly basis, but CPD recognition is accredited over a time period with expiry deadlines and minimum requirements. A portfolio was a common method of recording and proof of evidence for CPD, and a continuous theme was that CPD is needed to ensure competency. The Nursing Act 33 of 2005 makes provision for CPD for nurses but to date the South African Nursing Council has not yet decided on a model of CPD for implementation for SA nurses. / South Africa

Approval Walden University College of Health Sciences This is to certify that the doctoral study by Brenda Gould-Johnson has been found to be complete and satisfactory in all respects, and that any and all revisions required by the review committee have been made. Review Committee Dr. Eric Anderson, Committee Chairperson, Health Services Faculty Dr. Patti Urso, Committee Member, Health Services Faculty Dr. Jonas Nguh, University Reviewer, Health Services Faculty Chief Academic Officer Eric Riedel, Ph.D. Walden University 2015 Walden University College of Health Sciences This is to certify that the doctoral study by Brenda Gould-Johnson has been found to be complete and satisfactory in all respects, and that any and all revisions required by the review committee have been made. Review Committee Dr. Eric Anderson, Committee Chairperson, Health Services Faculty Dr. Patti Urso, Committee Member, Health Services Faculty Dr. Jonas Nguh, University Reviewer, Health Services Faculty Chief Academic Officer Eric Riedel, Ph.D. Walden University 2015 Decreasing Attrition of Novice and Newly Hired Professional Nurses Through Preceptorship by Brenda Gould-Johnson MSN/ED, University of Phoenix, 2012 MPAH, Golden Gate University, 1990 BSN, Norfolk State University, 1986 Project Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Nursing Practice Walden University November 2015

<p>Comparative analysis of the CPD systems internationally and nationally revealed that CPD is mandatory for some whilst for other countries it is compulsory, but not mandatory for licensing purposes. Licensing occurs on a yearly basis, but CPD recognition is accredited over a time period with expiry deadlines and minimum requirements. A portfolio was a common method of recording and proof of evidence for CPD, and a continuous theme was that CPD is needed to ensure competency. The Nursing Act 33 of 2005 makes provision for CPD for nurses but to date the South African Nursing Council has not yet decided on a model of CPD for implementation for SA nurses.</p>