Browsing by Author "Nzimande, Londiwe"

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    Structural empowerment to ease the transition of new nurse graduates : exploring the experiences of operational managers in primary healthcare clinics
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2024-03) Nzimande, Londiwe; van Schalkwyk, Talita; Van der Heever, Mariana; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. Dept. of Nursing & Midwifery.
    ENGLISH SUMMARY: Introduction: Operational Managers, the first-line nurse managers in the clinical setting, have a duty to empower new nurse graduates during the transitional phase from being nursing students to functioning as qualified nurse practitioners, referred to as professional nurses in South Africa. Little is known about the role of operational managers in supporting new nurse graduates’ transition to practice through access to information, resources, support, and opportunities to learn and develop in the context of the primary health Care (PHC) clinics in the SA public healthcare sector. The study aimed to explore the experiences of operational managers on the use of structural empowerment to ease new nurse graduate’s transition to practice to practice in PHC clinics. Methods: A descriptive qualitative approach was applied to attain the aim of the study. The population comprised fifteen operational managers (OMs) working at the PHC clinics within uMhlathuze local municipality in KwaZulu Natal province of South Africa. The final sample comprised eight participants who were purposively selected and met the inclusion criteria. Individual interviews were conducted using a self-developed semi-structured interview guide. Thematic data analysis was conducted on the results. Trustworthiness was achieved by ensuring credibility, dependability, confirmability, and transferability. Ethical approval was obtained from the Stellenbosch University Health Research Ethics Committee. Permission to conduct the study was granted by the KZN Department of Health Ethics Committee. The ethical principles of self-determination, beneficence, and justice were adhered to. Results: Four major themes emerged from data analysis: 1) minimal orientation, 2) outplay of the professional development process, 3) use of human and material resources, and 4) barriers to new nurse graduate’s empowerment process. The themes were further divided into nine sub-themes that described the experiences of how OMs facilitated access to structural empowerment elements to ease the transition to the practice of new nurse graduates working under their care in PHC clinics. It emerged that minimal orientation was provided to new nurse graduates through the induction and orientation processes. Such processes were sub-optimal and primarily focused only on introducing the students to the clinical guidelines. In addition, professional development of non-clinical competencies such as management and leadership skills were not considered during the transitional phase. The clinical competencies were role-modelled by senior professional nurses. The rollout of informal continuous professional development for new nurse graduates happened through in-service training workshops and informal training in the different primary healthcare streams. Coordination of access to human and material resources needed for professional development coordinated by the OMs requires innovation due to time and resource constraints. Staff shortages and busy clinic workloads were found to be barriers that hindered the empowerment process, which led to inconsistent on-site mentorship by senior professional nurses and new nurse graduates receiving inadequate feedback about their performance. Conclusion: OMs appear to have limited capacity to coordinate effective professional development opportunities and support structures for new nurse graduates. These findings suggest the development of formal policies guiding the implementation of effective professional development and orientation programs for the new nurse graduates during the transition to practice phase.