Guidelines For Clinical Nursing Education Of The Pupil Enrolled Nurse And Midwife In Namibia

ABSTRACT

Clinical nursing education is crucial for the education and training of the pupil enrolled nurse

and midwife in Namibia. The training is structured around essential nursing skills, knowledge

about and attitudes towards general nursing and normal midwifery as well as the practice of

actual nursing care in a safe and competent way under the supervision of a registered nurse.

The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the experiences of and challenges faced by

pupil enrolled nurses and midwives, tutors and registered nurses regarding clinical nursing

education. The study then aims to formulate guidelines on clinical nursing education to be used

by registered nurses and tutors for the education and training of pupil enrolled nurses and

midwives.

The study was conducted at Keetmanshoop Hospital and Regional Health Training Centre in the

south of Namibia, Windhoek Central and Katutura State hospitals, the National Health Training

Centre (NHTC) in Windhoek, Otjiwarongo Hospital and Regional Health Training Centre,

Rundu Hospital and Regional Health Training Centre in the north east and Oshakati Hospital and

Regional Health Training Centre in the north-west of the country.

The research objectives were to:

· explore and describe the experiences and challenges of the pupil enrolled nurse and

midwife, tutors and registered nurses regarding clinical nursing education.

· determine the factors that influence clinical nursing education in the training and

education of the pupil enrolled nurse and midwife.

· develop guidelines to be followed by registered nurses and tutors to improve the clinical

nursing education of the pupil enrolled nurse and midwife.

The study was guided by a qualitative approach to describe the lived experiences of the

participants with regard to clinical nursing education. The target population for this study was

tutors, registered nurses involved in clinical nursing education of pupil enrolled nurses and

midwives and second year pupil enrolled nurses and midwives.

The study was conducted in two phases with phase one comprising collection and analysis of

data while phase two entailed the formulation of guidelines to direct tutors and registered nurses

within the clinical setting. A purposive sample of tutors, registered nurses involved in clinical

nursing education and second year pupil enrolled nurses and midwives were used. The researcher

was guided by knowledgeable supervisors experienced in qualitative research. The data was

collected by means of focus group discussions.

Themes elicited from the focus group discussions were:

· Participants have different experiences with regard to teaching and learning in the clinical

setting.

· Participants identified barriers hampering the efficient execution of clinical nursing

education

· Participants experienced a lack of collective planning and consultation with regard to

clinical nursing education.

The findings revealed that clinical nursing education was not receiving proper attention and that

it was being affected by various factors that were adversely affecting the learning and

experiences of participants in the clinical setting. The study also highlighted the need to enhance

the skills and experiences of the pupil enrolled nurse and midwife by simulating activities often

not found in some of the health institutions where allocated for clinical experience during

training.

In phase two of the study guidelines were formulated for the clinical nursing education of the

pupil enrolled nurse and midwife by a committee of experts. It is recommended that the Ministry

of Health and Social Services approve these guidelines for implementation in order to realise the

desired outcome of clinical nursing education.