Experiences of final year nursing students at a public college of nursing in the Eastern Cape province regarding their preparedness to become registered nurses

Mampunge, Fezeka

Title: Experiences of final year nursing students at a public college of nursing in the Eastern Cape province regarding their preparedness to become registered nurses
Creator: Mampunge, Fezeka
Subject: Nursing students -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
Subject: Nurses -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
Subject: Nurses -- In-service training -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
Subject: Nursing -- Ability testing -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
Subject: Nursing assessment -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
Subject: Nursing -- Examinations
Subject: Nursing -- Standards -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
Subject: Nursing student -- Registered nurse -- Experience
Subject: Preparedness -- College -- Clinical staff and Clinical accompaniment
Date: 2013
Type: Thesis
Type: Masters
Type: MSc (Nursing Science)
Identifier: vital:11905
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10353/d1006815
Identifier: Nursing students -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
Identifier: Nurses -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
Identifier: Nurses -- In-service training -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
Identifier: Nursing -- Ability testing -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
Identifier: Nursing assessment -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
Identifier: Nursing -- Examinations
Identifier: Nursing -- Standards -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
Identifier: Nursing student -- Registered nurse -- Experience
Identifier: Preparedness -- College -- Clinical staff and Clinical accompaniment
Description: Within the nursing profession, the transition from the student to a graduate nurse is a common rite of passage that marks the end of initial educational preparation in the discipline and the beginning of a professional journey as a nurse and a member of the multidisciplinary team (Nash, Lemcke & Sacre. 2009:48). This is a period of adjustment, stress, growth and development and the transitional nurse is likely to feel uncomfortable, fearful and may experience feelings of inadequacy. This study was undertaken to explore and describe the experiences of final year nursing students at a public college of nursing in the Eastern Cape regarding their preparedness to become registered nurses, with the aim to identify gaps and make recommendations on strategies to close the gaps. The objectives were to explore and describe the experiences of final year nursing students at the public college of nursing in the Eastern Cape Province with regard to their preparedness to become registered nurses and to recommend strategies to improve the preparation of nursing students for transition to become registered nurses. To answer the research question “What are the experiences of final year nursing students at a public college of nursing in the Eastern Cape Province with regard their preparedness to become registered nurses”, a qualitative, explorative and descriptive design was used as a framework for the study. Data were collected by means of unstructured focus group interviews with a purposively selected sample of 27 final year nursing students at the particular college of nursing. Data were analysed using Tesch’s method of analysis for qualitative research. Two themes emerged, revealing that participants at the college experienced preparedness and lack of preparedness to assume the role of a professional nurse. This related to certain aspects that had an impact on the preparation of the final year nursing students for practice and included: curriculum-related aspects; clinical teaching and learning support; learning opportunities; interpersonal relationships between lecturers, students and clinical staff; equipment; and library resources. It was concluded that the learning needs of the nursing students were not adequately catered for, leading to lack of preparedness. Through the involvement of nursing students in the evaluation of their learning, shortfalls in both education and practice areas could therefore be detected. Recommendations regarding strategies to be used to promote preparedness of final year nursing students included: continuous feedback on student performance in the form of exit evaluations on the part of students to identify learning needs; writing of progress reports on the part of clinical practice; and the employment of clinical preceptors with clear role specifications between the lecturers, ward sisters and preceptors to avoid role confusion.
Format: 91 leaves; 30 cm
Format: pdf
Publisher: University of Fort Hare
Publisher: Faculty of Science & Agriculture
Language: English
Rights: University of Fort Hare

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