<p>In this study a qualitative phenomenological approach was used because the researcher identified it as the most appropriate method to do this study. The population under study was the student nurses studying towards their BCur nursing degree at the SoN at the UWC. A purposive sample consisting of 8 respondents were selected, aged between 19 and 32. The data were collected through unstructured, in-depth interviews lasting for about 1 hour. The responses from this type of data collection provided the researcher with ̕̕rich̕̕ details of the student nurses experiences of the needle-stick injury. The core principles of Phenomenology focus on the ̕̕lived̕̕ experiences of an individual and the researcher chose the unstructured, in-depth interview to collect the data in this study because it was the most appropriate method of obtaining the data. Participation in the study was voluntary and informed consent was obtained from the respondents prior to the commencement of the study. An inductive theory was used as a framework to guide the data analysis process because through the process of analysing the data, categories and themes emerge. Findings from the study revealed the following: a needle-stick injury is considered to be a traumatic incident that students react in various ways to the traumatic incident, that several intervening factors precede the incident and lastly that the students need support following the incident.</p>

<p>In this study a qualitative phenomenological approach was used because the researcher identified it as the most appropriate method to do this study. The population under study was the student nurses studying towards their BCur nursing degree at the SoN at the UWC. A purposive sample consisting of 8 respondents were selected, aged between 19 and 32. The data were collected through unstructured, in-depth interviews lasting for about 1 hour. The responses from this type of data collection provided the researcher with ̕̕rich̕̕ details of the student nurses experiences of the needle-stick injury. The core principles of Phenomenology focus on the ̕̕lived̕̕ experiences of an individual and the researcher chose the unstructured, in-depth interview to collect the data in this study because it was the most appropriate method of obtaining the data. Participation in the study was voluntary and informed consent was obtained from the respondents prior to the commencement of the study. An inductive theory was used as a framework to guide the data analysis process because through the process of analysing the data, categories and themes emerge. Findings from the study revealed the following: a needle-stick injury is considered to be a traumatic incident that students react in various ways to the traumatic incident, that several intervening factors precede the incident and lastly that the students need support following the incident.</p>

Magister Curationis - MCur / An estimated 12 billion injections are administered annually worldwide and result in two million needle sticks each year in health workers. Needle-stick injuries occur worldwide on a daily basis. These injuries are traumatic experiences which if not handled correctly may have devastating psychological effects on the student nurse. The researcher proposed to explore the lived experiences of student nurses in the undergraduate programme at the University of the Western Cape (UWC), Cape Town, who had sustained needle-stick injuries during their clinical placement to uncover the meaning that these lived experiences had to the student nurses. The researcher, through her clinical supervision of the BCur undergraduate nursing students at the School of Nursing (SoN), University of the Western Cape (UWC) suspected that needle stick injuries sustained by student nurses are being mismanaged in the service settings and that the phenomenon of a needle-stick injury had far reaching emotional and physical effects on the student nurse. In this study a qualitative phenomenological approach was used because the researcher identified it as the most appropriate method to do this study. The population under study was the student nurses studying towards their BCur nursing degree at the SoN at the UWC. A purposive sample consisting of 8 respondents were selected, aged between 19 and 32. The data were collected through unstructured, in-depth interviews lasting for about 1 hour. The responses from this type of data collection provided the researcher with ‘rich’ details of the student nurses experiences of the needle-stick injury. The core principles of Phenomenology focus on the ‘lived’ experiences of an individual and the researcher chose the unstructured, in-depth interview to collect the data in this study because it was the most appropriate method of obtaining the data. Participation in the study was voluntary and informed consent was obtained from the respondents prior to the commencement of the study. An inductive theory was used as a framework to guide the data analysis process because through the process of analysing the data, categories and themes emerge. Findings from the study revealed the following: a needle-stick injury is considered to be a traumatic incident that students react in various ways to the traumatic incident, that several intervening factors precede the incident and lastly that the students need support following the incident. These research findings indicate a need for the provision of a structured preventive and promotive programme relating to needle-stick injuries for the student nurses. Clinical procedures should be revised to ensure the safety of students when they work with sharp instruments. The knowledge about policies and procedures relating to the management of needle-stick injuries should be reinforced to both staff and students. / South Africa

The purpose of the research study was to describe the general South African public’s perception of the image of nurses. The general public’s perception of nurses in South Africa and globally is seen as one of the main reasons for the current shortage of nurses, as the profession is generally portrayed extremely negatively in the open press. The picture painted reveals long working hours, poor pay and negligence resulting from poor performance and support as the essence of the nursing profession. The public is bombarded with images of nurses’ strikes and poor patient outcomes. Positive feedback is rare and seldom contributes to changing public perceptions of nurses. Studies on the public perceptions of nurses have been carried out in various countries, but published studies on the South African situation could not be found. This study aimed to determine and describe the general South African public’s perception of nurses and the results will be used to make recommendations that could improve the image of nurses and encourage more respect for the profession as a whole. A quantitative non-experimental and descriptive design was used to gain more information about the South African public’s perception of the image of nurses. A questionnaire was used to gather the data, which consist of biographical data and responses to 19 statements regarding nurses and the profession. The objectives of the study were formulated from the research question as follows: 1) to determine the general public’s perception of nurses; and 2) to formulate recommendations, based on the research results, for enhancing nurses’ public image. The population of the research comprised the 1 000 respondents to whom the questionnaires were distributed. Of these, 776 questionnaires were returned. The questionnaires were distributed in five provinces of South Africa, namely Gauteng, the Western Cape, the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga. Accordingly, the objectives of the research were achieved, as the general South African public’s perception of the image of nurses was determined and described. In addition, recommendations for improving the current image of nurses were made. The findings of this study were predominantly positive and shed some light on the reasons for the current declining numbers of new registrations at the South African Nursing Council. The respondents, however, indicated that only 43.6% want their children to become nurses and that nursing is still viewed as a predominantly female profession. The public viewed nurses as extremely hardworking (80.03%), caring and understanding (78.2%) and supported the statement that “nurses treat their work as a profession in its own right, not secondary to a doctor’s” (73,8%). In view of the findings, the recommendations included the importance of improving the image of nurses among school children and improving recruitment strategies. It is also recommended that nurses in the profession should be made aware of the important role they play in changing their image and in re-branding the profession as a knowledge-based career for all genders and age groups. Consequently, this should be emphasised in training programmes and should be the focus of future South African campaigns. / Dissertation (MCur)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Nursing Science / unrestricted

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / This dissertation documents the attempt to address one of the major problems in nursing education i.e. the existing gap between the educational philosophy of nursing and nursing education practices, by means of an action research project during the period 1991-1996. The research in this dissertation is recorded in three phases. Phase One elaborates on the biographical and professional background of the researcher and the reasons why action research was selected for the purpose of this particular project Since action research provides opportunities for teachers to change and transform their own teaching practices, it was obviously the best choice for the research. The emphasis was on collaboration and participation and the researcher was morally bound to consider and observe all internal and external factors which influence and limit her own teaching practice, in order to initiate change and transformation in teaching. In order to define and contextualize the problem and to describe the situation in which this particular problem has been identified, the role of the statutory body, the South African Nursing Council which governs the profession and basic professional nursing education were explored. The problem is formulated as the existing gap between the educational philosophy on which existing nursing and nursing education practices are theoretically grounded and the way in which both nursing and nursing education practices appear in reality. Phase One also deals with the historical and philosophical foundations and development of nursing and nursing education. In an attempt to describe the researchers's teaching practice appropriately, as a social practice, it was essential to consider not only the professional and social boundaries of nursing education, but also the current situation regarding national education, the existing health system and all factors related to education and health. The dissertation then draws the attention to the essential features and historical context of a progressive and critical pedagogy, as a foundation for action research. In this regard it was especially the contributions of Dewey, Habermas, Freire, Giroux and McLaren, which guided the research to approach nursing education from a critical perspective. Phase Two deals with the research methodology. For this particular research project John Elliotts's Action Research Framework for Self-Evaluation in Schools was used. Within this framework of Elliott the dissertation then describes the research methodology of this particular project: Ideal and Reality in Nursing Education and Nursing Practices in South Africa: An Action Research Approach. The rationale and the development of the project is first described, whereafter action research is discussed as a process which enables nursing .practitioners and tutors to become empowered and to initiate change and establish transformation within their own practices. A major part of the dissertation is dedicated to the project in action with two groups of participants during two action research cycles. Finally Phase Three of this dissertation draws the attention to the conclusions based on the outcomes of the project. with the emphasis on the urgent need for change and transformation within the nursing profession in order to lessen the extensive gap between nursing theory and nursing practices. The existing gap between the philosophy on which nursing practices are based and how existing nursing practices appear in reality, seems to be the major cause of the prevailing discontent in the nursing profession.

Nursing throughout the world is striving for international competitiveness and accountability for effectiveness and trust to the students, patients and the community they serve, thus making the issue of accreditation increasingly important. The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of the heads of private nursing education institutions on accreditation process by nursing education and training quality assurance body at eThekwini district. Reviewed literature has revealed that the South African Government has facilitated and encouraged the establishment of quality assurance through the South African Qualifications Authority Act, the National Qualifications Framework Act (NQF) and the Nursing Act. Data were collected by means of in-depth interviews with each of the heads of the seven selected private nursing education institutions. Qualitative content analysis using an editing style was performed in this study. Findings of this study revealed that nursing education institutions lack their own internal quality assessment processes as quality of teaching and learning depends on the interaction between the teacher and the students, the collective integrity as well as the professionals in the nursing education institution. Recommendations focused on periodic internal self-assessment as a vehicle to promote the culture of institutional internal self-assessment practices, as quality is seen as logical approach for conveying the importance of excellence to individuals who are nursing care recipients. Reports from the internal review should be provided by the institution to the external evaluation team prior to the external evaluators visit. / Thesis (M.N.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2013.

A quantitative, descriptive and contextual research study was conducted to establish the impact of the South African Nursing Council regulation number 212 on the training of theatre nurses in the Northern are of the Eastern Cape Province. A survey was conducted, using a questionnaire as research instrument. Convenience sampling was used to select the required sample of registered theatre nurses employed in the area. The data analysis revealed that the way theatre nurses are utilized in the area does not yet show an impact in terms of the aim of this course namely to develop their knowledge, skills and attitudes in order to be effective practitioners. However, the respondents felt positive about the curriculum. / Health Studies / MA (Health Studies)

A quantitative, descriptive and contextual research study was conducted to establish the impact of the South African Nursing Council regulation number 212 on the training of theatre nurses in the Northern are of the Eastern Cape Province. A survey was conducted, using a questionnaire as research instrument. Convenience sampling was used to select the required sample of registered theatre nurses employed in the area. The data analysis revealed that the way theatre nurses are utilized in the area does not yet show an impact in terms of the aim of this course namely to develop their knowledge, skills and attitudes in order to be effective practitioners. However, the respondents felt positive about the curriculum. / Health Studies / MA (Health Studies)