- Title
- Undergraduate bachelor of nursing students’ learning experiences of the operating room environment in public and private hospitals in the Eastern Cape
- Creator
- de Vega, Jaunita Martina
- Subject
- Operating room nurses -- South Africa
- Subject
- Operating rooms -- South Africa
- Subject
- Nursing -- Study and teaching -- South Africa
- Date Issued
- 2024-12
- Date
- 2024-12
- Type
- Master's theses
- Type
- text
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10948/69794
- Identifier
- vital:78035
- Description
- As per the regulations outlined by the South African Nursing Council (SANC), nursing students must fulfil a specified number of clinical hours to become registered practitioners. Regulation R425 and R174 mandates that undergraduate nursing students complete clinical hours in General Nursing Science (GNS), including a component in the operating room (OR) as part of their specialization. However, the educational experiences of Bachelor of Nursing (BON) students in the OR setting are not always positive. The intensity and urgency of perioperative activities in the OR can sometimes leave nursing students feeling threatened and overwhelmed, hindering their ability to view the OR as a conducive clinical learning environment (CLE). The purpose of the study was to gain an understanding of undergraduate nursing students’ learning experiences of the OR environment in public and private hospitals while achieving the learning objectives for course completion. The study followed a qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual design. Undergraduate nursing students based at a higher education institution (HEI) undergoing a four-year BON degree and who had exposure to the OR environment were invited to participate in the study. Data collection involved interviewing 20 participants using focus group discussions. Data was transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically using Tesch’s method of analysis. Vygotsky’s theory of sociocultural learning was used as a lens to explore the OR learning experiences of the nursing students placed at both public and private hospitals. An adapted version of the AGREE II tool was used as a framework to develop recommendations to optimise the learning experiences of nursing students in the OR environment. The analysis yielded three overarching themes and nine related sub-themes. It was evident that these students encountered challenges when adapting to the OR environment. These challenges were attributed to factors such as the reception and support they received in the CLE, their level of preparedness for OR procedures, and the numerous factors influencing their learning opportunities within the OR. The findings propose that enhancing nursing students’ preparation, along with implementing a structured induction programme, could lead to a more favourable experience in the OR and optimise learning outcomes. Additionally, fostering supportive mentorship programmes with OR professional nurses or staff trained to introduce nursing students to the OR, promoting professional communication between nursing education institutions (NEIs) and hospital OR management, are pivotal measures for maximizing learning opportunities and nurturing the professional growth of nursing students within the OR environment. Recommendations were developed using an adapted version of the AGREE II tool as a framework to optimise the learning experiences of nursing students in the OR environment.
- Description
- Thesis (MCur) -- Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Clinical Care & Medicinal Sciences, 2024
- Format
- computer
- Format
- online resource
- Format
- application/pdf
- Format
- 1 online resource (169 pages)
- Format
- Publisher
- Nelson Mandela University
- Publisher
- Faculty of Health Sciences
- Language
- English
- Rights
- Nelson Mandela University
- Rights
- All Rights Reserved
- Rights
- Open Access
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- Visitors: 8
- Downloads: 2
Collections
NMU School of Clinical Care Sciences
| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | SOURCE1 | DeVega, JM December 2024.pdf | 6 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |