Experiences of registered nurses regarding teaching nursing students in state hospitals, Windhoek, Namibia

Abstract

Teaching nursing students is a vital part of the responsibilities of registered nurses working in state hospitals. The aim of the study was to explore and describe registered nurses’ experiences regarding teaching nursing students in state hospitals in Windhoek, Namibia. The objectives were to explore and describe the experiences of registered nurses in relation to teaching nursing students and to identify factors that affect teaching based on the experiences of registered nurses teaching nursing students in state hospitals. This study used a qualitative, exploratory, descriptive, and contextual research design. A total of twelve registered nurses from two state hospitals in Windhoek, Namibia, were interviewed. The purposive sampling method was applied. The main question asked was: What is your experience with teaching nursing students in the hospital? This was followed by probing questions until data saturation was reached. An audio recorder was used and notes were taken. During data analysis, the verbatim data were transcribed. Teacher's open colour coding was used to categorize concepts with similar meanings into three key themes and sub-themes. Key Theme 1: Participants viewed supervision as very important; Key Theme 2: Participants observed different attitudes and behaviours among students; Key Theme 3: Participants perceived a lack of knowledge on expected teaching. The findings revealed that several barriers negatively affect clinical nursing education and hinder the teaching and learning of nursing students. The significance of the study lies in its benefit to the International University of Management, Ministry of Health and Social Services, and the researcher as a registered nurse. Ethical principles such as written informed consent, confidentiality, right to privacy, autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice were observed throughout the research process. Conclusions were drawn according to the study objectives. Recommendations were provided, along with suggestions for further study. Limitations of the study were acknowledged.