The quality of the clinical learning environment for nursing students in a federal health institution in Nigeria

Abstract

Nursing students’ clinical learning experience is an important element in ensuring the continuation of a quality nursing profession. There is need for a safe and conducive clinical learning environment as well as up to date facilities for nursing students and clinical facilitators in order to produce effective and efficient learning. This is in addition to the need for effective and caring clinical facilitators. A quality clinical learning environment provides the context for development of the nursing students’ affective, cognitive and psychomotor skills and plays a very important role in integrating knowledge, skills and attitudes which is essential for the acquisition of competencies for nursing students. This study investigated the quality of the Clinical Learning Environment for nursing students in a Federal Health Institution in Nigeria. The purpose of the study was to explore the quality of the clinical learning environment and the available facilities necessary to deliver efficient teaching for nursing students. A sequential mixed method (QUANqual) approach was adopted. The first and second phase of the study was quantitative in nature which included both a quality audit of eight (80) patients’ records, stocks and equipment of four (4) wards and a survey of eighty-four (84) nursing students, followed by a smaller qualitative phase which consisted of semi-structured interviews with ten (10) clinical facilitators. The findings of all the phases were then integrated guided by the clinical training model of South Africa to guide and answer the research question ‘’what is the quality of the clinical learning environment for student nurses in a federal health institution in Nigeria’’. The data were analysed in phases using quantitative analysis for phases1 and part of phase 2, and latent content analysis for the latter part of phase 2 (comments made as part of the nursing students survey) and thematic analysis for phase 3 (semi-structured interviews with clinical facilitators). This revealed that there is inadequate equipment and supplies and simulation space for demonstration and practice, as well as a shortage of human and material resources for teaching. vi In conclusion, the findings show deficits in what is needed to achieve a quality learning environment for the nursing students and this might have negative effect on their ability to achieve clinical competence.