At the beginning of the 21st century has the nurssing care been undergoing and constantly is undergoing some significant changes. These changes are related to the admission of the Czech Republic into the European Union, where healthcare is transformed and demands for professional training of nurses are increasing. Because of the indispensable position of general nurses in the health care system, it is essential that to create conditions for education to meet all the training requirements. Understanding students' stance in this area can help to plan practical lessons and can also reveal both the strengths and weaknesses of practical training in selected departments. The aim of the diploma thesis was to find out how students of the general nurse field perceive professional practical training in selected departments and which categories they most often mention in their essays. Following the set of objectives, the hypothesis and three research questions were established. For the empirical part of the diploma thesis was used the research method of content analysis of data in which a quantitative and qualitative approach was applied. In terms of quantitative data analysis, the technique of frequency analysis was chosen and, in order to achieve a deeper meaning of the content structure of the text, a qualitative content analysis of the data was used where the valency analysis technique was used. The results of the research show that the practical training significantly influences the nursing staff, the possibility to learn professional skills, the contribution of practical practical training, mentor nurse, patients / clients, communication at the workplace, the possibility of working with documentation and attendance at the visit and the number of students Practice. Other factors that affect student practical training are apprehensions and fear, stress and psychological difficulty of general nurse work, adherence to the principles of barrier nursing care, supervision, and burnout. The diploma thesis can help to improve the quality and planning of practical education in the bachelor study field general nurse and as a valuable feedback for the students. It can also be used as a basis for the elaboration of a specialized article and for further research.

Trata-se de uma pesquisa documental retrospectiva com abordagem qualitativa do tipo estudo de caso. O objetivo foi identificar as vivências e as percepções dos acadêmicos de enfermagem frente à prática curricular hospitalar, descritas no fórum de discussão online. O estudo foi desenvolvido na Escola de Enfermagem da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, com os registros digitais realizados pelos alunos durante a prática educativa Fórum de Discussão Online produzida no ambiente virtual de aprendizagem Moodle, na disciplina de Fundamentos do Cuidado Humano III do curso de graduação em enfermagem, no primeiro semestre de 2011. Os dados analisados foram provenientes das 162 postagens registradas no fórum de discussão online, produzidas por 36 alunos, seis professores e quatro monitores da disciplina. Esses dados foram acessados por meio de download e analisados através da técnica de análise de conteúdo temática, com o apoio do software NVivo 9®. A realização da pesquisa foi aprovada pela Comissão de Pesquisa da Escola de Enfermagem e pelo Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa da UFRGS (CAAE 02007812.6.0000.5347). Da análise, emergiram dois temas: a compreensão dos estudantes de enfermagem sobre a prática profissional e o processo de ensino e de aprendizagem sob a ótica dos estudantes de enfermagem. O estudo demonstrou que o fórum de discussão online pode ser usado como recurso para problematizar as questões inerentes à formação do futuro profissional enfermeiro. Seu uso como apoio à prática curricular surge como possibilidade de abrir um espaço amplo de discussão, permitindo que discente e docente interajam na construção de um ambiente mais seguro para a realização da atividade prática no ambiente hospitalar. / This is a desk retrospective research, with a case study qualitative approach. The research aimed to identify the experiences and perceptions of nursing students across the curriculum hospital practice, described in the online discussion forum. This study was developed in the Nursing School of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, using digital records produced by the students during the learning practice Online Discussion Forum, which was available in the virtual environment for learning Moodle, in the first semester of 2011, in the discipline Human Care Fundamentals III, which is part of the graduation course in nursing. The data analyzed were from 162 posts registered in the online discussion forum, written by 36 students, six professors and four academic tutors. These data were accessed by download and analyzed by the content analysis technique, with the software NVivo 9®. This research was approved by the Nursing School's Research Commission and by the University's Ethics in Research Committee (CAAE 02007812.6.0000.5347). The analysis allowed us to identify two thematic categories: the nursing students comprehension about the professional practice and the teaching and learning process through nursing students standpoint. This study showed that the online discussion forum can be used as a resource to debate topics related to the education of the future nurse. Its use to support the curricular practice provides moments of discussion, allowing learners and professors to interact in the process of building a safer environment to the practice in hospitals. / Se trata de una investigación documental retrospectivo, con un enfoque cualitativa del tipo estudio de caso. El objetivo fue identificar las experiencias y percepciones de los estudiantes de enfermería de todo el plan de estudios de la práctica hospitalaria, que se describe en el foro de discusión online. El estudio fue conducido en la Escuela de Enfermería de la Universidad Federal de Rio Grande do Sul con registros digitales hechos por los estudiantes, durante la práctica educativa del Foro de Discusión Online producida en el ambiente virtual de aprendizaje Moodle, en la disciplina de Fundamentos del Cuidado Humano Básico III del curso de licenciatura en Enfermería, en el primer semestre de 2011. Los datos analizados procedían de los 162 mensajes registrados en los foros de discusión online producidas por 36 estudiantes, seis profesores y cuatro monitores de la disciplina. Se accede a estos datos a través de download y analizados mediante la técnica de análisis de contenido temático. En este proceso se ha utilizado el software NVivo 9®. La investigación fue aprobada por la Escuela de Investigación de Enfermería y por el Comité de Ética en la Investigación de la UFRGS (CAAE 02007812.6.0000.5347). Del análisis surgieron dos temas: a comprensión de los estudiantes de enfermería sobre la práctica profesional y el proceso de enseñanza y de aprendizaje desde la perspectiva de los estudiantes de enfermería. El estudio demostró que el foro de discusión online puede ser utilizado como un recurso para problematizar las cuestiones relacionados con la formación de los futuros enfermeros. Su uso como complemento a la práctica curricular se plantea como la posibilidad de abrir un espacio amplio de discusión que permite a los profesores y estudiantes a interactuar y construir un ambiente más seguro para la realización de la actividad práctica en el ámbito hospitalario.

No description available.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / It is unknown whether timing of human patient simulation (HPS) in a semester, demographic (age, gender, and ethnicity), and situational (type of program and previous baccalaureate degree and experience in healthcare) variables affects students’ perceptions of their clinical reasoning abilities. Nursing students were divided into two groups, mid and end of semester HPS experiences. Students’ perceptions of clinical reasoning abilities were measured at Baseline (beginning of semester) and Time 2 (end of semester), along with demographic and situational variables. Dependent variable was Difference scores where Baseline scores were subtracted from Time 2 scores to reveal changes in students’ perceptions of clinical reasoning. Students who were older and had previous healthcare experience had higher scores, as well as students in the AS program, indicating larger changes in students’ perceptions of clinical reasoning abilities from Baseline to Time 2. Timing of HPS, mid or end of semester, had no effect on Difference scores, and thus students’ perceptions of clinical reasoning abilities.

Bakgrund: I samtliga vårdverksamheter kommer patienter i kontakt med sjuksköterskestudenter, som under den verksamhetsförlagda utbildningen förväntas erbjuda patienter god vård under handledning av legitimerade sjuksköterskor. Syfte: Att beskriva patienters upplevelser av att vårdas av sjuksköterskestudenter. Metod:Systematisk litteraturstudie med en beskrivande syntes, grundad i kvalitativ ansats. Resultat: Patienter upplevde att studenters bemötande kunde präglas av ett genuint förhållningssätt vilket ökade patienters välbefinnande. Studenters närvaro kunde även bidra till en vård utöver det vanliga, en förbättrad vård som var mer anpassad efter individen. En ömsesidig gemenskap kunde infinna sig i mötet mellan studenter och patienter, men att som patient vara navet i lärandeprocessen kunde även upplevas som sårbart. Slutsats: Patienters upplevelser av sjuksköterskestudenter var övervägande positiva. Studenter bidrog med genuin närvaro och var generösa med sin tid, vilket bidrog till ökat välbefinnande hos patienter. Med studenter närvarande kunde patienter hamna i ett lärande sammanhang vilket kunde påverka patienters vårdupplevelse både positivt och negativt. / Background: In all care activities, patients come into contact with nursing students. Students are expected to offer patients good care at their clinical placements under the supervision of licensed nurses. Aim: To describe patients’ experiences of being cared for by nursing students. Method: Systematic literature study with a descriptive synthesis, based in qualitative approach. Results: The patients experienced an increased well-being through students’ genuine approach. The presence of students could also result in a care beyond the ordinary, as an improved care which was more adapted to the individual. A mutual togetherness could occur in the encounter between students and patients,but as a patient being the hub of the learning process could also be perceived as vulnerable. Conclusion: Patients' experiences of nursing students were predominantly positive. Students contributed with a genuine presence and were generous with their time, which contributed to increased well-being of patients. With students present, patients could end up in a learning context, which could affect patients' care experience both positively and negatively.

A major focus in nursing education is on the judgement of clinical performance, and it is a complex process due to the diverse nature of nursing practice. Difficulties in the development of valid and reliable assessment measures in nursing competency continue to pose a challenge in nursing education. A holistic approach in the assessment of competency comprises knowledge, skills and professional attitudes, wherein the notion of competency incorporates professional judgement and management skills in the clinical situation. Therefore, the thesis aims to develop a holistic clinical assessment tool with a reasonable level of validity and reliability to meet the needs of clinical education. The conceptual framework underlying this research is formed by establishing a theoretical connection between the practice of learning, and of pedagogy and assessment. This research consists of five studies. In Study I, a systematic review was conducted to explore the current assessment practices and tools for nursing undergraduates. In Studies II, III and IV, a qualitative approach with focus group discussions was adopted to explore the views of final-year undergraduate nursing students, preceptors, clinical nurse leaders and academics on the clinical assessment. Based on the multiple perspectives, it therefore addresses concerns in clinical assessment. In Study V, a holistic clinical assessment tool was developed, for which a psychometric testing was conducted. The systematic review indicated that limited studies adequately evaluate the psychometric properties of the assessment instrument. The qualitative studies have raised an awareness of professional and educational issues in relation to clinical assessment. Workload, time, availability of resources, adequate preparation of preceptors, and availability of valid and reliable clinical assessment tools were deemed to influence the quality of students’ clinical learning and assessment. In addition, the presence of support systems and formal educational programs for preceptors influenced their preparation and self-confidence. Nursing leaderships in hospitals and educational institutions have a joint responsibility in shaping the holistic clinical learning environment and making holistic clinical assessment for students. The involvement of all stakeholders in the development of a valid and reliable assessment tool for clinical competency is also essential to the process. The Holistic Clinical Assessment Tool (HCAT) was developed by the author based on the systematic review, qualitative findings and the core competencies of registered nurse from the professional nursing boards. The HCAT consists of 4 domains and 36 assessment items. Furthermore, testing of the psychometric properties indicated that the HCAT has satisfactory content validity, construct validity, internal consistency and test-retest reliability. In conclusion, the HCAT is meritorious in that it carries the potential to be used as a valid measure to evaluate clinical competency in nursing students, and provide specific and ongoing feedback to enhance the students’ holistic clinical learning experience. The HCAT not only functions as a tool for self-reflection for the students, but also guides the preceptors in clinical teaching and assessment. In addition, the HCAT can be used for peer-assessment and feedback. It is imperative that the clinical and academic institutions establish various levels of ongoing support for both students and preceptors in the process of clinical assessment.

The retention of nursing students remains a challenge in higher education, and the need for nurses in the United States is projected to increase. The purpose of this study was to investigate nursing student persistence in an associate degree program by examining differences in the presence of key social, environmental, and academic factors across 2 types of students: completers and non-completers of the 1st course in a registered nursing program. The study framework was based on Tinto's Student Integration Model and the Nursing Undergraduate Retention and Success Model, which identify key social, environmental, and academic factors as critical to student success. The Student Perception Appraisal survey, which consists of 27 items arranged into 5 subscales 'personal academic, environmental, institutional interaction, college facilities, and friend support' was administered to students enrolled in the 1st semester of a registered nursing program who were later assigned to a group based on course completion (n = 90 completers; n = 22 non-completers). An independent-samples t test revealed no statistically significant differences between the groups on the instrument subscale scores. Recommendations include further study with larger and more equivalent group sizes. Implications for social change include providing initial research findings and recommendations to the study site that may ultimately increase the number of nursing graduates to meet the ever-increasing demand for healthcare professionals.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / Abstract Clinical teachers’ experiences of nursing and teaching Clinical nurse teachers’ experiences of nursing and teaching undergraduate nursing students on clinical placement are explored in this thesis because of concerns about the quality of nursing students’ learning outcomes. The aim was to identify variation in clinical teachers’ conceptions of nursing and their conceptions of, and approaches to teaching undergraduate nursing students. The study was significant because clinical teachers’ conceptions of nursing and approaches to clinical teaching have not been researched previously. Underpinning the study was a phenomenographic perspective on learning and teaching. This perspective views learning and teaching in terms of how they were experienced. Experience of nursing and clinical teaching, for example, can be understood in terms of related ‘what’ and ‘how’ aspects. The ‘what’ aspect concerns how nursing and clinical teaching were understood. The ‘how’ aspect is concerned the ways nursing and clinical teaching were approached. Experience of nursing and clinical teaching were described and analysed in terms of the separate ‘what’ and ‘how’ aspects and are understood in terms of the relationship between each of the aspects. Data from semi-structured interviews with twenty clinical teachers were analysed using phenomenographic research techniques (Marton & Booth, 1997) in order to identify variation in how nursing and clinical teaching were experienced. To extend the description, the research also sought to identify the empirical relationships between each of the aspects investigated. Key aspects of variation in clinical teacher experiences of nursing and clinical teaching and associated relationships have been identified. The results suggest that clinical teachers who adopted a student-centred approach to teaching conceived of nursing and clinical teaching in complex ways. The phenomenographic approach provides for an experiential and holistic account of clinical teaching: a perspective absent in nursing education research literature. The research findings extend knowledge that will assist with preparation and support of clinical teachers.

The purpose of this study was to describe senior nurses’ expectations concerning how a digital information and communication technology systems (ICT) can contribute to the improvement of care leadership and how it can strengthen ties between the school's theoretical world and the practical clinical work-based training (WP) in nursing. The study has a descriptive design with a qualitative approach. The study involved seven leading care nurses. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews. Subject matter was analyzed based on qualitative content analysis.  The analysis yielded in a first category practical examples of how using ICT as a tool could strengthen the ties between theory and practice in order to understand the usefulness of theory in practice.  The informants also gave specific examples of ICT content that could be given to students and also to supervisors both in terms of information and education. The second category described the supervisors’ views on receiving students in clinical placements. The senior care nurses felt that at present the reception of students was unsatisfactory due to a muddled organization. It was often unclear what responsibilities they had as mentors and what the responsibility of the student was for his or her practice placement. Conclusions of the study are that the supervisors could see ICT as a tool to clarify these ambiguities. In the future it is necessary to respond to the needs of supervisors with respect to their views on what an ICT system should provide them with in order to improve their care supervision. By providing an ICT learning tool the two worlds could meet and the ties between theory and practice in the nursing program could be strengthened.

An effective educator-student relationship is a key factor to ensure a positive learning climate where learning can take place. Educators must work together to build caring relationships with students, provide support to eliminate barriers and create a positive learning climate. This will establish an atmosphere characterised by mutual support, caring and understanding, all of which are fundamental to a sound educator-student relationship. Resilience research consistently points to the importance of positive and supportive relationships between the educator and student as a key protective factor in students’ progress. Strengthening students’ resilience from the beginning of their nursing career through a positive and supportive educator-student relationship can improve their well-being, as well as improve the quality of education and eventually the patient care delivered. The overall aim of this study was to explore and describe the basic elements required for an effective educator-student relationship in a private nursing education institution in the North-West Province. The study enabled the researcher to recommend guidelines to strengthen the resilience of nursing students within the educator-student relationship. An explorative, descriptive and contextual qualitative design was followed. This study made use of a non-probability sample and specifically a purposive sampling method. The sample consisted of forty enrolled nursing auxiliary students. The “World Café” method was used to collect data. Data were analysed by using Creswell’s steps in data analysis. Five main categories were identified: (1) teaching/learning environment, (2) educator-student interaction, (3) educator qualities, (4) staying resilient and (5) strategies to strengthen resilience. Conclusions were drawn by looking at the interrelation between the literature review, the theoretical framework chosen for this study, namely Kumpfers’ resilience framework, and the findings of the research. It is eminent that students need a caring and supportive learning environment including enough space, lighting and ventilation. Students reported that they need interaction that is constructive, interaction that acknowledges human rights and interaction that makes use of appropriate non-verbal communication. The educator must display qualities of love and care, respect, responsibility, morality, patience, openness to new ideas, motivation, willingness to “go the extra mile” and punctuality. Students reported various ways through which they manage to stay resilient namely: being positive, having a support system, improving study methods, self-motivation, setting personal goals, taking pride, perseverance and determination. Recommendations were formulated for nursing education, nursing practice and further research. / MCur, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014