Lived experiences of student nurses caring for intellectually disabled people in a public psychiatric institution

M.Cur. (Psychiatric Nursing)Caring for intellectually disabled people can be demanding for student nurses who are still novices in the profession. To ensure optimal nursing care is received, student nurses must have both an understanding of and a positive attitude towards intellectually disabled people. Nursing intellectually disabled people is a challenge that can have an impact on a person‟s body, mind and spirit therefore, student nurses need to have the ability to deal with stressful situations and environments. Student nurses need to be prepared to care for patients with long-term challenges, such as intellectual disabilities. These patients require a caring relationship that facilitates an enhanced awareness of life and health experiences. The caring relationship also facilitates health and healing processes as it involves the authentic and genuine needs of patients. This research aimed to explore and describe lived experiences of student nurses caring for intellectually disabled people in a public psychiatric institution, and to formulate guidelines for the facilitation of mental health of these student nurses. A qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual design was used. Data were collected through individual in-depth interviews, focusing on the question “How was it for you to be working at this institution?” Thematic analysis was used to analyse the collected data and a consensus discussion was held with the independent coder. Ten participants were interviewed and five, who were not comfortable with interviews, wrote naïve sketches. Trustworthiness was assured by adhering to Lincoln and Guba‟s principles, that is, credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability. Four ethical principles were demonstrated throughout the research namely, principles of respect for autonomy, non-maleficence, beneficence, and justice. Three themes emerged from the data. Firstly, student nurses experience a profound unsettling impact on their wholistic being when caring for intellectually disabled people. iv Secondly, they develop a sense of compassion and a new way of looking at life, and lastly they require certain educational, emotional and spiritual needs to be met. Guidelines were formulated to facilitate the mental health of student nurses caring for intellectually disabled people in a public psychiatric institution