System, cognitive and emotional support of students during clinical placement : exploring the experiences of students from a college of nursing in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Abstract

Introduction and background: Nursing education was introduced to improve the quality of nursing, and includes theory and clinical components of the curriculum which should be integrated to ensure that the course content that is taught covers the needs of the community, and that the graduate nurse is competent enough to care for the health care users. Clinical training is an essential component in the provision of nursing education and training that ensures the production of competent nurse cadres with the necessary competencies to respond to current and ever-changing healthcare needs of a diverse population. The South African Nursing Council (SANC) mandates that students should be supported throughout their training programme during clinical placement. Nevertheless, research highlights that support is one of the many challenges that are faced by students in the clinical learning environment. AIM OF THE STUDY The aim of the study was to explore and describe the experiences of students from a college of nursing in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) regarding system, cognitive and emotional support received by the students during clinical training. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY The objectives of the study were to 1) Describe the experiences of students from a college of nursing in KZN with regards to system, cognitive and emotional support during clinical placement, 2) Determine if system, cognitive and emotional support was given to students during clinical training, and 3) Identify strategies that could be implemented to facilitate system, cognitive and emotional support to students during clinical placement. Method: A quantitative, non-experimental descriptive study design was undertaken using Schlossberg’s Transition Theory as a theoretical framework to guide the study. Ethics approval to conduct the study was received from the institutional Ethics Committee (IREC 151/20). Data was collected using a selfadministered questionnaire between February and March 2021 from 214 3rd and 4 thyear nursing students who were registered for a four-year basic nursing programme in KZNCN, and analysed using version 21 of SPSS. Findings: The findings of the study confirmed that although all forms of support (system, cognitive and emotional) were given to students, several gaps prevailed, for example, negotiating student workloads with clinical staff. A significant difference was noted in the response regarding cognitive support between the 3rd and the 4 th year students. Conclusion The findings from the current study confirmed that in a college of nursing in KZN, South Africa, system, cognitive and emotional support of students during clinical placement was evident but there were several gaps that still needed to be addressed. These findings confirmed the anecdotal evidence by the researcher which, together with research evidence, raised concerns regarding availability of system, cognitive and emotional support to nursing students during clinical placement. Recommendations: Recommendations to address gaps identified are made with regards to policy formulation, review and implementation, service delivery, nursing education. Further research is recommended regarding adherence to policies and guideline by nursing education and health care institutions involved in student clinical training in the matter of student support. Some recommendations are directed to the students who should acknowledge that to groom them into responsible professional support offered to them is informed by several factors including the level of training as support needs differ from level to level. Students should also acknowledge that at selected levels of training support made available to them students is adjusted to allow them to grow into independent practitioners as they exit the training programme to assume the duties and responsibilities of being professional nurses.