Perceptions of nurse unit managers regarding the preparedness for practice of newly- qualified professional nurses trained at a public college of nursing in the Eastern Cape
- Authors: Piet, Sheila Ann
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Nursing -- Practice -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Nurses -- Training of -- South Africa School-to-work transition -- South Africa Nurses -- In-service training -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MCur
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10948/43182 , vital:36757
- Description: Nurses belong to a noble and caring profession, characterized by a specific and scientific body of knowledge and skills that need to be obtained from an accredited Nursing Education Institution (NEI). The World Health Organization (WHO) states that nursing encompasses autonomous and collaborative care of individuals of all ages, families, groups and communities, sick or well, and in all settings. It includes the promotion of health, the prevention of illness, and the care of ill, disabled and dying people (Muller, 2009:4). The newly-qualified professional nurse (NQPN) works within a specific scope of practice, as stipulated by the South African Nursing Council (SANC). Nurses need to have the knowledge, skills and attributes to be able to render quality nursing care to the community at large. There was, however, a concern voiced by nurse unit managers that the NQPN lacked the ability to be an independent practitioner and does not have problem-solving and analytical skills, and therefore their preparedness for practice in the clinical field was questioned. This is a concern for the profession and the colleges of nursing. Sound guidelines are therefore needed regarding the educational programme in order to ensure that NQPNs trained at a public college of nursing are ready to practice, both competently and independently, upon completion of their training. A qualitative, descriptive, explorative and contextual research study was conducted to explore and describe the perceptions of nurse unit managers regarding the preparedness for practice of NQPNs trained at a public college of nursing in the Eastern Cape. Nurse unit managers from the public hospitals and Primary Health Care (PHC) services in the Nelson Mandela Health District, in the Eastern Cape, were interviewed using focus groups in order to obtain information until data saturation was obtained. The focus group interviews were transcribed verbatim and Tesch’s (1990) in Creswell (2009:186) data analysis and coding was followed to create themes from the data collected. To protect the dignity of the participants and the integrity of the study, the researcher incorporated the following ethical principles: respect for persons, beneficence and justice. The findings were described in detail and a literature control was conducted. The main findings were: The nurse unit managers indicated that NQPNs were not prepared for clinical practice and pose a danger to patients. Education deficiencies were identified by nurse unit managers. Students do not demonstrate the expected professional behaviour, but nurse unit managers acknowledged that they also contribute towards the under-preparedness of NQPNs. Lastly, nurse unit managers acknowledged their responsibility regarding clinical education, but shifted the blame (role) to other organizations and people. Guidelines were developed for the curriculum development committee and nurse educators, and recommendations were made regarding clinical practice, education and research, and the limitations of the study were identified.
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- Date Issued: 2019
In vitro testing to investigate the anticoagulant/antithrombotic and antidiabetic biological activity of Leonotis Leonurus
- Authors: Mnonopi, Nandipha Olivia
- Date: 2007
- Subjects: Leonotis leonurus -- Physiological aspects , Medicinal plants -- South Africa , Materia medica, Vegetable -- South Africa , Plant bioactive compounds
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:10331 , http://hdl.handle.net/10948/693 , Leonotis leonurus -- Physiological aspects , Medicinal plants -- South Africa , Materia medica, Vegetable -- South Africa , Plant bioactive compounds
- Description: The rising costs of prescription drugs in the maintenance of personal health and wellbeing have increased the interest in medicinal plants. The World Health Organization estimates that 65 percent-80 percent of the world’s population use traditional medicine as their primary form of health care. In this project the focus has been on the use of Leonotis leonurus extracts as a traditional medicine. The major chemical constituent of this plant is marrubiin, which is a diterpenoid labdane lactone formed from a precursor called premarrubiin. Aqueous and acetone extract (AL and OL extract, respectively) of this plant has been found to have an antithrombotic effect, with IC50 values of 3mg/ml and 6mg/ml, respectively. The extracts also have an effect on fibrinolysis, where the lysis time was decreased by more than 50 percent by the organic extract and standard marrubiin. In whole blood ADP-induced platelet aggregation, the organic extract inhibited aggregation by 68 percent at a final concentration of 138μg/ml (equivalent to 7.2μg/ml marrubiin). Marrubiin has also been screened for antithrombotic/anticoagulant activity; no antithrombotic activity has been observed but it increased the rate of fibrinolysis, by decreasing lysis time by 64 percent and also decreasing fibrin formation. From these findings it can be concluded that marrubiin has a fibrinolytic effect and antiplatelet aggregation effect. In the diabetic studies, in hyperglycemic condition, the OL (10μg/ml) extract and standard marrubiin significantly increased insulin secretion by 200 percent (2-fold) and 400 percent (4-fold), respectively, with respect to the control. The OL extract and standard marrubiin stimulated the release of insulin, the stimulatory index was significantly increased by 450 percent (4.5-fold) and 500 percent (5-fold), respectively, with respect to the control. In the apoptotic studies, in the normoglycemic and hyperglycemic conditions, the OL extract decreased the occurrence of apoptosis, in a dose-dependent manner, with the lower concentrations inducing apoptosis significantly higher than the relevant controls. Standard marrubiin did not have an effect on apoptosis in hyperglycemic condition, but it decreased the occurrence of apoptosis by 200 percent (2-fold) under normoglycemic conditions. The OL extract increased proliferation by 148 percent (1.48- fold) and 155 percent (1.55-fold) in normoglycemic and hyperglycemic conditions, respectively. The same effect was observed for standard marrubiin, where, proliferation was increased by 180 percent (1.8-fold) and 200 percent (2.0-fold) in normoglycemic and hyperglycemic conditions, respectively. RT-PCR displayed that standard marrubiin inhibited the expression of insulin by 50 percent under normoglycemic conditions.
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- Date Issued: 2007