Browsing by Author "Hewett, Deirdre"
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- ItemWorkplace violence targeting student nurses in the clinical areas(Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2010-11) Hewett, Deirdre; Hugo, J.; Stellenberg, E.; University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Health Sciences. Dept. of Interdisciplinary Health Sciences. Nursing Science.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Workplace violence in health care is a worldwide phenomenon. In nursing, the nature of workplace violence is predominantly non-physical in nature. Literature reveals the devastating consequences for the individual nurse, both physically and / or emotionally, depending on the nature of the violence. The consequences for the organisation / institution and the profession are equally devastating, manifesting in reduced standards of patient care and increased attrition from the profession. The pervasiveness of this problem indicates that to date, remedial and protective measures have been unsuccessful. However, most of the research done on workplace violence in nursing has been conducted amongst qualified nurses. The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent of workplace violence, targeting student nurses in clinical areas. The setting was the Western Cape College of Nursing and the population was second, third and fourth-year, pre-registration students. The research objectives addressed various aspects, for example, type, prevalence, perpetrators, consequences and management of workplace violence. A quantitative research design, utilising a survey, was chosen for the study. A probability sample of n = 255 students was selected, using stratified, random sampling as the sampling method. The variables selected for stratification were gender and year of study. A self reported, anonymous questionnaire, guided by the literature review and by the research objectives, was utilised for data generation. Summary statistics were used to describe the variables, whilst distributions of variables were presented in the form of histograms and frequency tables. Where appropriate, the relationships between demographic and research variables were described, using suitable statistical analyses. The findings revealed that the perpetration of non-physical violence against student nurses is widespread, particularly that perpetrated by co-workers, more specifically registered, staff- and assistant nurses. The under reporting of workplace violence was a common finding. Student nurses suffer grave emotional consequences as a result of workplace violence. Almost half of the respondents admitted that they had considered leaving nursing due to workplace violence and that it had negatively affected their standard of patient care. The overall conclusion was that, in accordance with a worldwide trend amongst all categories of nurses, student nurses are targets of workplace violence in the clinical areas. These findings have particular implications for the management of nursing education institutions. The fact that student nurses are targeted to the extent revealed in this study indicates that existing preventive measures in the clinical areas have not been effective. The recommendations arising from this study therefore focus on equipping the vulnerable trainee with the tools to withstand workplace violence. As such, the recommendations are directed at the management of the nursing education institution, to create awareness around the problem, to empower students to confront and cope with workplace violence and to support students traumatised by workplace violence. Finally, this study suggests avenues for further research, for example, research in the same setting after implementation of the recommendations, or further research into the dynamics of workplace violence, targeting student nurses from the perspective of qualified nursing staff or patients.