Original Research

Feedback in clinical settings: Nursing students’ perceptions at the district hospital in the southern part of Namibia

Vistolina Nuuyoma
Curationis | Vol 44, No 1 | a2147 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/curationis.v44i1.2147 | © 2021 Vistolina Nuuyoma | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 02 January 2020 | Published: 31 May 2021

About the author(s)

Vistolina Nuuyoma, School of Nursing, Faculty of Health Science, University of Namibia, Rundu, Namibia

Abstract

Background: Feedback was the backbone of educational interventions in clinical settings. However, it was generally misunderstood and demanding to convey out effectively. Nursing students were not confident and did not feel free to practise clinical skills during practical placements because of the nature of the feedback they received whilst in these placements. Moreover, they experienced feedback as a barrier to completing practical workbooks.

Objective: The purpose of this article was to report on a qualitative study, which explored nursing students’ perceptions of the feedback they received in clinical settings, at a district hospital.

Method: This study was conducted at a district hospital located in southern Namibia. An explorative qualitative design with an interpretivist perspective was followed. A total of 11 nursing students from two training institutions were recruited by purposive sampling and were interviewed individually. All interviews were audio recorded with a digital voice recorder followed by verbatim transcriptions, with the participants’ permission. Thereafter, data were analysed manually by qualitative content analysis.

Results: Themes that emerged as findings of this study are feedback is perceived as a teaching and learning process in clinical settings; participants perceived the different nature of feedback in clinical settings; participants perceived personal and interpersonal implications of feedback and there were strategies to improve feedback in clinical settings.

Conclusion: Nursing students appreciated the feedback they received in clinical settings, despite the challenges related to group feedback and the emotional reactions it provoked. Nursing students should be prepared to be more receptive to the feedback conveyed in clinical settings.


Keywords

clinical education; clinical learning; clinical practice; clinical settings; clinical teaching; feedback

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Crossref Citations

1. The relationship between feedback and evaluative judgement in undergraduate nursing and midwifery education: An integrative review
Chanika Ilangakoon, Rola Ajjawi, Ruth Endacott, Charlotte E. Rees
Nurse Education in Practice  vol: 58  first page: 103255  year: 2022  
doi: 10.1016/j.nepr.2021.103255