Experiences of registered nurses regarding their clinical roles for students at Onandjokwe state hospital

Abstract

Background: Clinical education, an indispensable aspect of undergraduate and graduate training in health professions, is frequently described as ad hoc, ineffective, and occasionally daunting. Clinical teachers play a pivotal role in shaping the quality of clinical learning environments, yet many lack formal training in teaching methodologies. The purpose of the study was to explore and describe the perceptions of registered nurses regarding their educational role for practical teaching of student nurses at state hospital in Oshikoto region. Methods: A qualitative descriptive, explorative, contextual design was used. The population of this study were registered nurses at a state hospital in Oshikoto region. A non-probability purposive sampling method was used to select a sample from the identified population of registered nurses (N=96). The sample size of16 was determined by the stage at which data saturation was reached. Individual in-depth face-to-face interviews were conducted on (n=16) registered nurses, data analysis was done using Tesch method of open coding. Measures to ensure trustworthiness were implemented throughout. Ethical principles were respected throughout the study to safeguard the participants. Results: This study yielded three key-themes and 16 sub-themes. The themes related to registered nurses’ comment on student dynamics, registered nurses reflect on their teaching role and registered nurses’ comment on the role of training institutions. Conclusions: This study found that registered nurses experienced challenges with availability of resources in the execution of their role of practical teaching. Moreover, registered nurses also experienced difficulties with managing overwhelming number of students and ward management tasks. Furthermore, they also highlighted the need to update their clinical skills and collaborating effectively with lecturers from different nursing schools in order to improve the educational role for clinical teaching. Lastly, the registered nurses also revealed a lack of clinical and theoretical knowledge amongst students allocated in their wards. Therefore, it is recommended that continuous professional development activities be strengthened within the hospital and that educational institutions play an active role in curbing the theory practice gap. Hospital management should play a proactive role to regulate the number of students allocated to the hospital.