The 2008 World Health Report emphasises that we need “primary health care (PHC) now
more than ever”. Competent primary health care providers who “put people first” are required
in the front line in order to make a difference. The need for widely accessible, competent and
caring professional nurses thus places expectations on training programmes and health
services.
In South Africa, a number of studies have been conducted on primary health care and
methods of teaching clinical competence to nursing students (Truscott 2010; Magobe et al.
2010; Naledi et al. 2010) but not on the experiences of nursing students during PHC
practice. The researcher observed that the emphasis on the positive, supportive and helpful
experiences of nursing students in coping with challenges during their clinical practice was
distinctly lacking.
The objective of the study was to explore and describe the experiences of nursing students
during the clinical practice in PHC settings. It was expected that this information will enable
the researcher to formulate recommendations to support nursing students to cope with
challenges during clinical practice in a PHC setting. A qualitative descriptive inquiry, with an
appreciative approach was used.
Five semi-structured focus group interviews were conducted to obtain data. The population
comprised of 4th year nursing students who were selected using purposive sampling with the
assistance of a mediator, namely the Head of the Department for PHC at a Nursing College.
The sample size was determined by data saturation. Data analysis was carried out
simultaneously with the collection of data. Fifteen main themes were identified during a
consensus discussion between the researcher and the co-coder. The main findings related
to the meaning students attached to being placed in a PHC clinic; positive, supportive and
helpful experiences; how they can be supported and what help them cope irrespective of
challenges they experienced.
Conclusions were drawn which pertained to: placement in a PHC setting for clinical practice;
positive, supportive and helpful experiences; support when placed at a PHC setting for
clinical practice and coping measures when placed at a PHC setting for clinical practice; and
recommendations were formulated for nursing education, nursing research and nursing
practice that focused on supporting and empowering nursing students to cope with
challenges experienced at a PHC setting. / MCur, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nwu/oai:dspace.nwu.ac.za:10394/15830 |
| Date | January 2015 |
| Creators | Zulu, Beauty Mchaisi |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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