Medication errors are a global concern that may affect patients' hospital stays, patients' lives after discharge, treatment costs, and mortality rates. Understanding medication errors among nursing students may help in preventing these errors as nurses are responsible for safe medication administration. The purpose of this descriptive phenomenological study was to examine upper-level nursing students' understanding of and experiences with medication administration and patient safety. Benner's nursing theory of novice to expert and Dreyfus's model of skill acquisition comprised the conceptual framework. Research questions focused on students' perceptions of safe medication administration. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 7 upper-level nursing students from a baccalaureate nursing program in the Southeastern U.S. utilizing convenience sampling. Colaizzi's analysis strategy was followed in determining themes and clustering data into categories. Three major themes emerged from the data that included learning curve referring to the rigor of the pharmacology course, gaining self-confidence, and reliance on preceptor. Two sub-themes were identified from the theme learning curve, which included fear of making a mistake causing harm to a patient, and appreciating the complexity of the working environment and the intricacy of the patients. Using study findings, a hybrid pharmacology and medication administration course for nursing students was developed. The course may improve nursing students' confidence in their skills and knowledge and enable them to provide a safer environment for patients. Implications for positive social change include a potential reduction in medication errors and related adverse outcomes experienced by patients and their families and by health care organization.

Magister Curationis - MCur / Due to the large student-supervisor ratio, a school of nursing at an university in the Western Cape, developed specific preceptorship training for professional nurses working in e.g. psychiatric hospitals. This aimed at improving the clinical teaching expertise of professional nurses and ensuring positive experiences around placement of student nurses. It was unclear how undergraduate student nurses experienced their interactions with their preceptors while placed in psychiatric units. The study used a descriptive phenomenological design to describe the lived experiences of student nurses with preceptors during their clinical placement at a psychiatric hospital. Undergraduate student nurses who were allocated to a preceptor at a psychiatric hospital in the Western Cape served as the population of the study. Purposive sampling was applied and individual unstructured interviews (n=11) held. This study adopted Collaizi's method of data analysis. Results of this study indicated that the nurse preceptors played a supportive role towards students during placement in psychiatric units. This resulted in meeting the students' objectives and needs in clinical placement. A challenge around a comprehensive learning environment was interpreted as a great need during students' training. Ethical clearance was sought from the Ethics Committee of the University of the Western Cape and ethical principles followed in conducting the study. Trustworthiness was ensured during the research process.

Magister Curationis - MCur / Male learners in the nursing profession could face self-leadership challenges. Self-leadership is an enabling process whereby a person learns to know him/herself better and, through this improved self-awareness, is better able to steer his/her work life. It involves personal and professional growth and maturity. This leads to empowerment of the individual and to fulfillment of goals and desires. The purpose of this study was to describe guidelines for male learner nurses on self-leadership during a four-year nursing programme at a nursing college in the Western Cape. The objectives of this study were to explore and describe the best experiences of self-leadership in male learner nurses during their four-year training programme at a nursing college in the Western Cape. An exploratory, descriptive, contextual and qualitative research design incorporating the philosophy of the Appreciative Inquiry paradigm was used. The research questions were framed from an AI perspective: ‘What are the best experiences of male learner nurses on their self-leadership during their four-year programme?’ ‘How can male learner nurses lead themselves during their four-year programme?’ The target population consisted of all the male student nurses from 1st to 4th year (n=151) in the R425 undergraduate diploma programme at a nursing college in the Western Cape. Data was collected by means of individual, semi-structured interviews with 12 male learner nurses until saturation occurred. The interviews were audio-taped and transcribed verbatim. Data analysis consisted of thematic analysis using Tesch’s eight-step method to generate themes, categories and sub-categories. The findings consisted of five themes: Theme 1 – The peak experiences of the male student nurses relating to self-leadership occurred on multiple levels – academic, interpersonal, personally associated and practice-linked. Theme 2 – Self-leadership was a process (at times difficult) of growth, adaptation and developing attitudes that culminated in building character. Theme 3 – Future aspirations included professional and educational aspects and interpersonal leadership. Theme 4 – This revealed the qualities needed for attainment of future aspirations. Theme 5 – The value of the programme was enhanced through educational, fellow student and practice support. The conclusion of this study was that male student nurses have the ability to lead themselves; they display characteristics such as maturity, responsibility, advocacy, strong resolve, hard work, endurance, a willingness to sacrifice; they used self-talk; they made firm decisions; but they needed guidance and active support from family, friends and nurse educators as well as management. The value of their training programme was enhanced by educational support from lecturers and mentors, fellow students and practice support in the wards and simulation laboratory. Guidelines for self-leadership for male learner nurses were described from the findings of the study. Ethical considerations included obtaining informed consent from the participants, while ensuring confidentiality and anonymity. Ethical clearance to conduct this study was obtained from the Ethics Committee at the University of the Western Cape, Western Cape College of Nursing (WCCN) and Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT). Trustworthiness was ensured throughout the research process through credibility, transferability, confirmability and dependability.

No / This is a summary of See et al.1 Newly registered nurses experience high levels of emotional exhaustion, stress and burnout, with high attrition rates in the first-year post-qualification. The purpose of this review was to consolidate the available evidence on the experiences of newly registered nurses transitioning from the role of student nurse to that of registered nurse.

Aim: The study aimed at describing the status of implementation of pre-service IMCI training in the public nursing colleges of South Africa as at 2010. Methods: A cross sectional descriptive survey of public nursing colleges of South Africa was conducted from May to June 2011. There are 32 public nursing colleges in South Africa, and each of the nine provinces has at least one. All 32 nursing colleges were included in the study. Study population: The study population included all nurse educators in the public nursing colleges teaching pre-service IMCI of student nurses in South Africa. Sampling: Two nurse educators teaching the IMCI strategy from each of the 32 public nursing colleges was included in the survey. Two nurse educators from each completed the questionnaire.Results: Pre-service IMCI training was introduced into the four-year basic diploma curriculum in the public nursing colleges between 2004 and 2009. Nurse educators teaching IMCI are not all trained in this strategy. Teaching methods used at these public nursing colleges include lectures, group discussions, practical and video shows. The availability of facilitators and training material are key success factors to IMCI teaching in the public nursing colleges. Constraints experienced included lack of human, material and financial resources, poor planning, and limited time for both theoretical and practical teaching due to a packed curriculum, as well as a lack of managerial support at all administrative levels. Conclusion: The success in pre-service IMCI training in the public nursing colleges depends on the availability of resources and ongoing managerial support to the nurse educators. New teaching methods and approaches, such as computerised tools, can be introduced to increase number of student nurses trained in this method. A mixed approach is recommended as it enables students to have continuous exposure to IMCI sessions throughout their years of study.

Background: Practical training on hospital wards is a major component of basic nurse training. With this in mind, there were concerns with respect to the ability to provide nursing students with the quality of clinical experience that is required as a result of changes in the Barbados nursing policy to increase the number of students. Aim: The overall aim of this research was to understand student nurses’ clinical placement learning experience at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Barbados, based on their current and desired clinical experiences. Research objectives: (1) to examine the student nurses’ current learning experiences at the hospital; (2) to determine the student nurses’ desired experiences at the hospital; and, (3) to compare and contrast their current clinical experience with their desired experience by integrating the data across the quantitative and qualitative studies. Design: A sequential explanatory mixed methods research. Methods: First study: The Clinical Learning Environment Inventory (CLEI) (current and desired form) and the Clinical Learning Environment, Supervision and Nurse Teacher (CLES+T) questionnaires were distributed to second and third year student nurses (n = 191) at the Barbados Community College. Descriptive and inferential analysis performed. Second study: Qualitative semi-structured interviews (n = 10) among second and third year student nurses analysed thematically. Results: Quantitative survey (First study): ‘Student satisfaction’ (mean 25.74 of 35), ‘Task orientation’ (mean 25.62 of 35), the ‘Leadership style of the ward sister’ (mean 4.02 of 5) and ‘Premises of nursing care on the ward’ (mean 4.01 of 5) greatly informed students’ actual hospital experience. The current and desired hospital experiences were statistically significant different (z = 6.68 to 8.07, p = 0.000). Qualitative interviews (Second study): Four overarching themes were generated: ‘Engaged, proactive and communicative team’; ‘No cohesion among team’; ‘Students – willing to learn and motivated’; and, ‘Consequences – positive and negative’. Overarching findings from both studies: Four major topics describe the student nurses’ experiences: ‘Engagement of the ward nursing team’, ‘The nature of nursing care delivery’, ‘Clinical supervision and teaching of nursing students on the ward’, and ‘Nursing student satisfaction’. Conclusion: The ward sister influences the ward team spirit and students’ clinical learning, negatively or positively. Nurse educators should acknowledge the value of clear, well organised ward activities on students’ learning. Clinical nursing curricula should be based on a blended educational learning perspective.

Student incivility has become a problem in nursing schools around the country. Researchers have noted that uncivil behavior that goes unaddressed may compromise the educational environment. Nursing faculty have differing standards about uncivil behavior; thus, students experience inconsistencies in approaches to incivility. The purpose of this mixed-methods explanatory study was to explore nursing faculty experiences with, understandings of, and responses to student incivility. The conceptual framework was Clark's continuum of incivility and the conceptual model for fostering civility in nursing education. Descriptive analysis of the level and frequency of uncivil behaviors of nursing faculty members (17 full-time and 15 part-time), as measured by the Incivility in Nursing Education-Revised survey, indicated that faculty most frequently experienced uncivil behaviors at the lower end of the continuum and rarely encountered those at the higher end. A purposeful sample of 12 faculty members (10 full-time and 2 part-time) participated in semistructured interviews, and data were open coded and analyzed thematically. Stress was identified as a contributing factor to student incivility, and faculty responses varied based on the learning environment. Nursing faculty expressed the need for more consistency in responding to student incivility. Based on the research findings, a 3-day professional development workshop on promoting civility in the academic environment was created. By learning practical ways to respond to, and possibly prevent, uncivil behavior in student nurses, workshop participants have the potential to positively affect the lives of future nurses, the health care personnel with whom they will work, and the patients for whom they will care.

Student incivility has become a problem in nursing schools around the country. Researchers have noted that uncivil behavior that goes unaddressed may compromise the educational environment. Nursing faculty have differing standards about uncivil behavior; thus, students experience inconsistencies in approaches to incivility. The purpose of this mixed-methods explanatory study was to explore nursing faculty experiences with, understandings of, and responses to student incivility. The conceptual framework was Clark's continuum of incivility and the conceptual model for fostering civility in nursing education. Descriptive analysis of the level and frequency of uncivil behaviors of nursing faculty members (17 full-time and 15 part-time), as measured by the Incivility in Nursing Education-Revised survey, indicated that faculty most frequently experienced uncivil behaviors at the lower end of the continuum and rarely encountered those at the higher end. A purposeful sample of 12 faculty members (10 full-time and 2 part-time) participated in semistructured interviews, and data were open coded and analyzed thematically. Stress was identified as a contributing factor to student incivility, and faculty responses varied based on the learning environment. Nursing faculty expressed the need for more consistency in responding to student incivility. Based on the research findings, a 3-day professional development workshop on promoting civility in the academic environment was created. By learning practical ways to respond to, and possibly prevent, uncivil behavior in student nurses, workshop participants have the potential to positively affect the lives of future nurses, the health care personnel with whom they will work, and the patients for whom they will care.

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston University / The purposes of this study are: l. To determine the opinion of student nurses on the value of instituting a formal Honor System in this certain school of nursing in the New England area. 2. To evaluate the students' knowledge and understandings of an Honor System. 3. To evaluate the students' orientation to the Honor System while attending a certain college in the New England area. 4. To determine future action and recommendations based on the findings of this study. 5. To compare the school of nursing faculty's opinion of what the students believe about honor and Honor Systems, with the students' own opinions.

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2031-01-01