Original Research

Experiences of undergraduate nursing students during clinical practice at health facilities in Western Cape, South Africa

Fundiswa P. Fadana, Hilda F. Vember
Curationis | Vol 44, No 1 | a2127 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/curationis.v44i1.2127 | © 2021 Fundiswa P. Fadana, Hilda F. Vember | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 29 October 2019 | Published: 08 April 2021

About the author(s)

Fundiswa P. Fadana, Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health and Wellness Sciences, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town, South Africa
Hilda F. Vember, Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health and Wellness Sciences, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town, South Africa

Abstract

Background: This study explored the experiences of undergraduate nursing students during clinical practice at healthcare facilities in the Boland Overberg area in Western Cape, South Africa. Few studies have been done on experiences of nursing students during clinical practice. However, there are still inadequacies, which lead to the deterioration of clinical practice quality.

Objectives: To explore and describe the experiences of undergraduate student nurses during clinical practice in healthcare facilities in Boland Overberg, in Western Cape, South Africa.

Method: A qualitative, exploratory descriptive design was applied. Data collection was done using focus-group interviews to ascertain the undergraduate student nurses’ experiences during clinical practice in healthcare facilities in the Boland Overberg area in Western Cape Region. Thirty-eight undergraduate nursing students from Boland Campus were selected, using purposive sampling. The sample size was based on data saturation. Colaizzi’s method of coding and thematic content analysis was used to interpret the data. Ethical principles were adhered to.

Results: After data analysis, the following themes emerged: clinical learning environment, challenges and inability to reach objectives.

Conclusion: During clinical practice in healthcare facilities, students were confronted with dilemmas which must be addressed with proper planning to decrease the challenges in clinical education of future nurses. The findings can be used in planning of nursing education, could provide help to develop effective clinical teaching strategies in nursing education and to support these undergraduate nursing students.


Keywords

clinical environment; clinical practice; experiential learning; undergraduate nursing students; clinical competence

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