Practices of caring for nursing students : a clinical learning environment

Abstract: Nursing students felt uncared for and unsupported within their clinical learning environment. Since care providers are vital members of the health care team, it is essential that nursing students are cared for within their world. The purpose of this study was to highlight caring for nursing students and provide recommendations to enhance a caring nature towards nursing students within their clinical learning environment. This was a qualitative study using an Appreciative Inquiry (AI) methodology and an exploratory and descriptive design. AI is defined by a 4D-cycle consisting of the following phases: Discovery (revealing the nursing students’ best practices of caring in their clinical environment); Dream (envisioning ideal caring practices); Design (creating processes to support the ideal envisioned image of the best practices of caring in the clinical environment); and Destiny (implementing and maintaining strategies that strive for the ideal best practices of caring in the clinical environment). The sample of this study consisted of second year bridging nursing students, leading to registration as general nurses in terms of Regulation 683 of the South African Nursing Council (SANC). A purposive sampling method was used in selecting these students from private hospitals within the Western Cape Province. Data were collected by conducting individual semi-structured interviews, which were recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were analysed using Giorgi’s five-step method. The themes of this study revealed best caring practices for nursing students and ideally how they should be cared for within their clinical learning environment. Caring embedded in the centrality of the heart was highlighted, as well as the creation of caring practices to ensure a caring conducive clinical learning environment. The principles of trustworthiness were adhered to by ensuring credibility, confirmability, dependability, and transferability. Furthermore, the researcher conformed to the ethical principles of self-determination, beneficence, non-...M.Cur. (Nursing Education