Browsing by Author "Chekerwa, Petronella"

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Nursing students’ perceptions of the barriers to applying theory to practice in clinical placement settings
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2023-03) Chekerwa, Petronella; Cornelle, Young; Anneline, Robertson; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. Dept. of Nursing & Midwifery.
    ENGLISH SUMMARY: Background: Healthcare organisations today increasingly demand that nursing graduates be assertive, operational and able to make informed decisions regarding patient care and provide quality care to patients. To achieve this level of performance, nursing students should acquire sound theoretical information in various disciplines, while mastering their practical skills to successfully combine theoretical knowledge with practice. Hence, clinical placements are crucial in ensuring nursing students’ ability to master nursing competencies. Nursing knowledge is taught in the classroom as a theory, which is translated into skills in skills laboratory sessions. Skills are applied in the clinical setting to provide meaningful, patient-centred care. Because theoretical application takes place outside the classroom in a complicated and dynamic environment comprising staff, patients, and preceptors, this setting and relationships within can either enhance or hinder students’ professional development. Student nurses in the clinical setting often have difficulty correlating the taught theoretical material with what they practice in the clinical setting, hence, they are unable to provide competent care to patients. This study aimed to explore nursing students’ perceptions of barriers to applying theory to practice in clinical placement settings. Such information would be valuable to decrease patient care risk and provide a more satisfying learning experience for the student nurse.Methods: The study used a qualitative descriptive approach to explore the perceptions of 15 nursing students through three focus group interviews, on the barriers to applying theory to practice in clinical settings. The Health Research Ethics Committee of Stellenbosch University, and the selected Higher Education Institution in the Western Cape Province of South Africa, granted permission to conduct the study. Purposive sampling was used to select participants, and Creswell’s six step framework was used to analysis the data. Results: The themes that emerged were: The ability of the students to apply theory to practice; Situational barriers; Personal barriers; Interactions with other parties and Strategies suggested by the students to facilitate the application of theory to practice. The study determined the skills that the fourth-year students mastered and those that they still needed help. Furthermore, barriers to utilising theoretical knowledge in the clinical placements settings were related to the situation, the person and the interactions with other parties. Strategies suggested by the students to facilitate the application of theory to practice included improved communication between the nurse educator, clinical supervisor and preceptors. In addition, ideally one clinical supervisor for each facility should be assigned, for students to receive more supervision. Conclusion: The findings demonstrated that it was difficult for student nurses to engage in clinical activities or to learn effectively without the necessary supervision and guidance. Barriers exist in the clinical environment and faculty, which disabled them from translating theory into practice. From their experience with such barriers in the first three years of their study, nursing students shared some effective strategies in facilitating theory to practice. Additionally, clinical supervisors and preceptors are urged to support and mentor the students throughout their clinical placement by providing more supportive-educative environments.