The experience of professional nurses working with newly qualified nurses placed for community service in public health facilities in the City of Tshwane, South Africa

Abstract

Background: The newly qualified nurses (NQNs) were mandated to work for one year as community service nurses before being registered. During the placement, NQNs were supposed to be supervised and supported by professional nurses. On the contrary, professional nurses expected NQNs to be hands-on and provide quality care on completion of their training. Expectations of professional nurses created misperceptions regarding the objectives of community service. Therefore, exploring their experience would identify skills gap that is needed to be addressed.

Objectives: This study explored and described the experiences of professional nurses working with NQNs placed for community service in the City of Tshwane.

Method: A qualitative exploratory design was conducted. Individual interviews were carried out with 22 professional nurses in various public healthcare settings, such as a hospital, a community health centre and a clinic. Informed consent was obtained from all the participants and confidentiality and anonymity were maintained throughout the interviews. Creswell’s data analysis process was implemented.

Results: Two themes emerged from this study, namely, experience of participants with NQNs and professional nurses. Participants experienced NQNs as not being competent to work independently and had to deal with unprofessional behaviour of NQNs. Participants supported NQNs, even though they were not empowered as mentors to NQNs.

Conclusion: Participants were disappointed that NQNs were not competent and confident to work independently. They expressed their frustrations in behaviours displayed by NQNs. However, participants acknowledged NQNs’ individual differences and were supportive towards them even though they were not empowered for such responsibility.