Thesis (Ed. D.)--Illinois State University, 2005. / Title from title page screen, viewed September 25, 2006. Dissertation Committee: Dent Rhodes (chair), Mary Autry, Peggy Flannigan, Barbara Nourie, Paul Vogt. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 65-67) and abstract. Also available in print.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Illinois State University, 2006. / Title from title page screen, viewed on May 2, 2007. Dissertation Committee: Thomas P. Crumpler (chair), Douglas D. Hatch, Wendy G. Troxel, Gary S. O'Malley, Emily Schlenker. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 96-104) and abstract. Also available in print.

Magister Curationis - MCur / In South Africa, mental health nursing forms part of the basic (pre-registration) education of Professional Nurses, in order to equip them for employment as general nurses in the comprehensive health services of the country. Mental health nursing is an interpersonal process, in which counselling is aimed at supporting and facilitating healthy lifestyle functioning. At the higher education institution of interest, psychiatry nursing is incorporated at the final year level of nursing. The student nurses are prepared with the theory of psychiatric nursing, two weeks before their clinical placement in hospitals and clinics. At the end of the year, they are expected to pass both the theory and practical component. The aim of the study was to explore the experiences of final year student nurses, regarding their preparedness for psychiatric clinical placement. The objective of the study was to describe the experiences of the students, regarding their preparedness for psychiatric clinical placement. A descriptive design, with a qualitative approach, was used to explore and describe the phenomenon under investigation. The researcher used purposive sampling to select participants for the study from a population of final year student nurses of a higher education institution in the Western Cape. They met the sampling criteria because they knew a great deal about the phenomenon of interest, had completed the two-week orientation programme and worked in a clinical placement for at least three months. Their participation in the study was on a voluntary basis. The researcher used unstructured interviews to collect data from the participants. The data analysis was done following Coliazzi's seven steps. The findings indicated that the students were not prepared for their psychiatric placements, even though they attended a two-week orientation programme, prior to their placements. It was revealed that anxiety played a huge role in the unpreparedness of students. The participants, therefore, suggest that the orientation period be extended. The researcher, however, applauds the staff members in the clinical placements and urges them to maintain their positive attitude towards the students, as the participants acknowledged and appreciated their support.

An approach to enhancing the success of nursing students is found in understanding the learning process and in the academic and sociologic variables placing students at risk for failure and attrition. Utilizing Bloom's Mastery Model, nurse educators may reduce failure and attrition by enhancing alterable variables. This Ex Post Facto investigation utilized Bloom's learning theory to examine a causal relationship of learner entry characteristics, learner reading and writing skills and the impact on program exit grade point average. The study sample was comprised of 143 nursing students entering an upper division urban multicultural baccalaureate nursing program. Data were collected by use of a demographic questionnaire, assessment of reading and writing skills of junior students in the nursing program, and obtainment of the program exit grade point average. A recursive path analysis was utilized for data analysis. Findings revealed older male students who transferred to the program from a university with high entry grade point averages excelled in reading assessment scores. University transfer students with a high entry grade point average excelled in writing also. Students for who French, specifically Creole, was a first language had lower writing scores and program exit grade point averages. Spanish as a first language was also associated with lower exit grade point averages. Higher reading and writing scores and entry grade point averages were associated with higher program exit grade point averages. Finally entry grade point average and university transfer were the only entry characteristics mediated by both reading and writing scores.

D.Cur. (Community Nursing Science) / Aggression becomes such a part of people’s daily lives that it is viewed as normal. As in the society nursing students at a higher education institution (HEI) also experience aggression in their lives. This exposure to aggression is of concern as it can be a possible obstacle in the personal and professional development and interpersonal relationships of the nursing students. The essence of this concern is that nurse educators need to gain knowledge of, insight into and awareness of the aggression experienced by nursing students to empower these students to manage aggression in their lives. The purpose of this study was to develop and describe a model as a frame of reference to facilitate the health of nursing students at an HEI in Johannesburg, South Africa, who experience aggression in their lives. The objectives of this study were as follows:  To explore and describe the experience of nursing students at an HEI in Johannesburg of aggression in their lives.  To generate a model from the results that will facilitate the promotion of health of the nursing students at an HEI in Johannesburg who have experienced aggression.  To formulate strategies for the implementation of the model.The research design was theory-generative, qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual in nature. Nursing students were purposefully sampled as they added to the richness of the data collected for the purpose of this research. Data was collected firstly through respondents drawing a picture and writing a self-reporting story, and secondly, through phenomenological interviews. Data analysis in this research was done by means of Tesch’s method of identifying themes and categories as described by Creswell. Ethical considerations were adhere to throughout the research and consent was obtained from the nursing students participating in the research. Lincoln and Guba’s method of trustworthiness was used. Two themes with categories were identified that reflected the nursing students’ experience of aggression in their lives. The first theme is that the nursing students experienced aggression as an integral part of their life and viewed it as a normal part of their life. The second theme is that nursing students experienced aggression as detrimental to themselves as a whole person and their interpersonal relationships. A model as a frame of reference to facilitate the health of the nursing students who have experienced aggression to self-manage aggression constructively,was developed. The findings of this research are relevant to the world of nursing practice, nursing education and research.

M.Cur. (Professional Nursing) / The selection of student nurses is a major factor determining the standard of nursing education, of the nursing profession and the quality of health care provided to the community in which the nurse serves. Student nurses gain entry into the nursing profession through a selection system. These systems vary from country to country and even among universities and nursing colleges within the country. According to available research literature the most common criteria identified involve biographical, psychological and academic variables which most universities and nursing college utilise to select students. A survey was undertaken to identify these variables and subsequently criteria were drafted for the selection of students at a college in the Transvaal. From this survey certain biographical variables were identified that could not be utilised as selection criteria, since it could be seen as being biased and constituting a violation of the rights of the individual. The psychological variables identified could also not be utilised as this aspect was beyond the scope of this study. The only usable discriminant was the academic variable where certain subjects and grades were highlighted in selecting students. The Swedish rating scale was used to draft a formula as follows: • A candidate has to possess a matriculation/standard ten certificate with six subjects; • A mark is allocated to each subject and symbol; • These marks are added together. Extra weighting of the same mark would be added to the subject discriminants, namely English higher grade; Biology higher grade; Mathematics standard and higher grades; Physical Science standard and higher grades. These marks would be added together and a candidate would be selected if he/she had a mark of 35 or above.

M.Cur. (Nursing Education) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

Magister Curationis - MCur / Background: Written feedback from lecturers to their students, in higher education institutions, plays an important role in improving students’ performance. However, students’ perceptions of written feedback on assessments could influence its utilization to improve their performance. Despite the high priority placed on written feedback, to date, insufficient research studies have been conducted on the student nurses’ perceptions of written feedback. Purpose and Objective: The purpose of this descriptive study is to describe student nurses’ perceptions of written feedback on assessments at a university in the Western Cape. The objective of this study is to determine student nurses’ perceptions of written feedback on assessment. Methodology: A quantitative descriptive survey research design was employed to conduct this study at a university in the Western Cape. The target population for this study was 106 student nurses registered in the nursing foundation programme for the year 2015. This study employed all-inclusive sampling of foundation student nurses registered in the year 2015. A questionnaire was used to collect data from the participants. A total of 74 participants were available for the study, of whom, 69 submitted their questionnaires, resulting to a response rate of 93.2%. The data was analyzed by using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23 and was presented in frequency tables, percentages and bar graphs. Ethics approval was obtained from the Senate Higher Degree and the Senate Research Committees of the institution under study, before commencing. Permission was also obtained from the Dean of Research and Head of the School of Nursing, before the commencement of the study. The purpose of the study was explained, and a consent form was signed, before the questionnaires were administered to participants. Findings: The findings of this study indicated that students receive feedback on assessment, were in line with the assessment criteria. The study also found that students perceived receiving plenty of quality written feedback in good time to be useful. The results of this study indicated that the inability to understand written feedback, the limited opportunity to clarify feedback and negatively written comments, hinders the use of written feedback. Recommendations: There is the need for lecturers to provide written feedback that could be useful for students to improve on their performance. There is also the need for written feedback to be delivered to students electronically. Lecturers need to discuss written feedback with their students after delivery. The need for a qualitative study to be conducted on student’s and lecturers experiences on written feedback on assessment is recommended.

Die doel van die studie was om vas te stel hoe die verpleegkundedosent die begeleiding van verpleegstudente in die praktyk ervaar. In die verlede was begeleiding van verpleegstudente met praktika in gesondheidsorginstansies deur ʼn professionele verpleegkundige gedoen wat deel was van die personeel se verantwoordelikhede. Die verpleegstudente doen hul teoretiese kennis op by ʼn tersiêre instansie en verkry hul praktiese kennis by ʼn geakkrediteerde gesondheidsorginstansie soos vereis deur die Suid-Afrikaanse Raad op Verpleging (SARV). Een van die take van ‘n verpleegkundedosent van die privaat opleidingskool is om die kliniese begeleiding van verpleegstudente in geakkrediteerde instellings te doen. Omdat verpleging ʼn beroep is waar vaardighede belangrik is, is praktiese inoefening van prosedures en evaluering van die verpleegstudente se vaardigheid daarin noodsaaklik. Die verpleegstudente is heeltyd besig met die pasiënte in die vorm van prosedures waarby die teorie wat in die opleidingskool verkry was, gekorreleer moet word met die prosedure om die hele prentjie te vorm. Dit is dus nodig dat begeleiding van die verpleegstudente gedoen moet word om vaardigheid en toepassing van kennis te verseker. Die navorser het ʼn kwalitatiewe, ondersoekende, beskrywende en kontekstuele studie gedoen waarvan die populasie die geregistreerde dosente van verskeie provinsiale en privaatverpleegskole in die Klein-Karoo en Suid-kaapdistrikte was. Die navorser het gebruik gemaak van ʼn nie-waarskynlike steekproef. Inligtingryke data was ingesamel deur semi-gestruktureerde onderhoude wat aangevul was met veldnotas soos verkry tydens onderhoude. Data-ontleding was reeds begin met data-insameling en Tesch se inhoudsontleding was gebruik om ʼn mening te vorm. ‘n Literatuurkontrole was gedoen om te bepaal wat vorige navorsing oor begeleiding bevind en aanbeveel het. Lincoln en Guba se model was gebruik vir betroubaarheidsversekering volgens die kriteria wat hulle aanbeveel het, naamlik geloofwaardigheid, oordraagbaarheid, betroubaarheid en bevestigbaarheid. Uit die data-ontleding het vier belangrike temas en subtemas te voorskyn gekom. Die temas was dat die verpleegkundedosente aspekte van die begeleiding van verpleegstudente in die gesondheidsorginstansie as positief en ook as negatief beleef. Die wyse waarop die gesondheidsorginstansies bestuur word, het die begeleiding beïnvloed en daar was riglyne voorgestel wat die kliniese personeel en dosente kan rig wanneer hulle betrokke raak by die begeleiding van verpleegstudente. Die begeleiding van verpleegstudente deur verpleegkundedosente, kliniese dosente en die gesondheidsorginstansie se opgeleide personeel, is ʼn belangrike deel van verpleegopleiding en bepaal uiteindelik die kwaliteit van die pasiëntsorg wat verskaf word deur die verpleegkundiges. Die navorser het riglyne daar gestel om die begeleiding van vepleegstudente te rig. Die riglyne moet nou geïmplementeer en getoets word binne die konteks van die bepaalde verpleegskole en dan weer geëvalueer word. Beperkings wat ondervind was in die studie was dat die steekproef ʼn klein groepie verpleegkundedosente op die platteland was, wat veralgemening bemoeilik, veral in die stedelike konteks. Die begeleiding van die verpleegstudente is gedoen met die ingeskrewe verpleegstudente (Die Suid-Afrikaanse Raad op Verpleging Regulasies, Regulasie 2176 en 2175 van 19 November 1993), naamlik die kategorie met die minste status en verantwoordelikheid onder verpleegstudente. Veralgemening na alle kategorieë, veral verpleegstudente besig met professionele verpleegprogramme, mag dus nie sinvol wees nie.

Transition from secondary to tertiary education presents unique challenges for first-year nursing students, similar to those experienced by other first-year students at any other tertiary education institution. Nursing students’ experiences are further complicated by the fact that nursing education incorporates almost equal amounts of time for class attendance and clinical practice placement. As a facilitator of learning for first-year nursing students, the researcher had observed how some new students were apprehensive and uncertain in their first year of study at the college. These and other observations, including those of the researcher’s colleagues, prompted the researcher to conduct a study to obtain information on how the first-year students at her college experience their first year of the nursing programme. This study, therefore, examined the experiences of first-year nursing students at a public college in the Eastern Cape Province enrolled in the four-year diploma programme that leads to registration as a nurse and midwife with the South African Nursing Council (SANC). Insights into these experiences were used to develop guidelines for nurse educators to optimise the teaching-learning environment of these students.Kotzé’s (1998) nursing accompaniment theory was used as a theoretical grounding for the study. The study followed a qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual design. Two of the college’s campuses were sampled for the study. One campus was in a more rural area and the other in a more urban area. Data was collected using purposive sampling of second-year students who were requested to think back to their first year of the nursing programme. Semi-structured, in-depth, face-to-face, individual interviews were conducted. Interview sessions were digitally recorded and then transcribed verbatim by the researcher. The researcher and an independent coder analysed the transcriptions using Tesch’s method of data analysis. The study’s trustworthiness was demonstrated through the criteria of credibility, transferability, dependability, confirmability and authenticity. The results indicated that students had positive and negative experiences in their first year of the nursing programme. Literature control placed the study’s findings within the existing body of knowledge with regard to students’ experiences of their first year. The students’ suggestions on how to enhance first-year nursing students’ experiences were incorporated into the guidelines that were developed for nurse educators to optimise the teaching-learning environment of first-year nursing students at this college.