Reflections of Student Nurses on Clinical Learning Experiences in Selected Health Settings in Windhoek, Namibia

Abstract

Nursing lecturers and registered nurses have been charged to teach nursing students during theoretical and clinical sessions. However, the manner in which these lecturers implement these responsibilities with specific reference to clinical sessions and how students experience this remains uncertain. The purpose of the study was to determine how students experience their teaching and learning experiences during clinical sessions per se. The design used to investigate this challenge was qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual. The population and sample were the same because it included all first year students of 2014 and they were forty in total. Data was collected through narratives that the students wrote on a monthly basis. Open coding was used to analyze the data. Trustworthiness was maintained through the following principles; credibility, dependability, confirmability and transferability and ethical considerations were adhered to. Research findings revealed that students experienced positive and negative experiences during clinical sessions concerning the learning environment, supervision and involvement in opportunities for learning. The results gave an indication on how to proceed to make clinical learning and teaching more effective for students to learn in conducive environments. The nurse guiding and teaching nursing students in clinical settings will always be a very important teacher. It is recommended that nurses in the clinical settings should receive in-service training in better understanding their role as nurse educators and being better communicators.