Unveiling how Clinical Nursing Education can be Improved in Northern Ghana: The Perspectives of Key Informants

Abstract

Introduction Clinical nursing education is an important component of the professional development of nursing students. Key informants such as nursing lecturers, nurse managers and clinical placement coordinators play an essential role in clinical education. Purpose The purpose of the study was to explore the perspectives of key informants on how the current state of clinical nursing education in Northern Ghana can be improved. Methods The study used an exploratory qualitative design. Sixteen participants were purposively selected and data were collected through face-to-face individual interviews. Data were analysed using framework analysis. Findings The study findings indicate that clinical nursing education can be improved by decreasing the overcrowding of students in the clinical setting, decreasing the theory-practice gap and providing relevant material resources in the clinical facilities. Also, nursing education institutions can improve clinical nursing education by equipping the skills laboratories, engaging an adequate number of lecturers, and carrying out clinical accompaniment. Conclusion There is a need to improve clinical education through collaboration between nursing education institutions and clinical facilities. Effective collaboration will ensure the planning of clinical placement to avoid overcrowding, provision of continuous professional development programmes for preceptors and improvement in clinical supervision. Also, the provision of material resources in skills laboratories and clinical facilities to enhance clinical teaching should be given priority.

Barriers and Facilitators to Clinical Supervision in Ghana: A Scoping Review

“…The collaborative nature of clinical supervision in Ghana is multifaceted and involves the partnership between educational institutions and clinical settings, and the supervisor and supervisees ( Alhassan et al, 2022 ; Asirifi et al, 2013 ; Ebu-Enyan et al, 2021a; Mensah et al, 2021 ; Nachinab & Armstrong, 2022 ). Overcrowding of students and excessive workload has been identified as a hindrance to positive outcomes of clinical supervision ( Nachinab & Armstrong, 2022 ). As noted by a study participant in Nachinab and Armstrong (2022, p.4): There is no space and when the students come they are usually also a lot.…”

“…Health training institutions can work together and streamline the number of students on clinical placements in healthcare facilities at specific times. The collaboration between educational institutions and the clinical settings will help to bridge the gap between theory and practice ( Mensah et al, 2021 ; Nachinab & Armstrong, 2022 ), as well as facilitate quality learning environment for the students. For clinical placement objectives to be met, training institutions must provide detailed information regarding students’ placement objectives, as well as having trainers from the classrooms occasionally visiting the clinical settings to monitor students’ progress ( Asirifi et al, 2013 ; Mensah et al, 2021 ; Nachinab & Armstrong, 2022 ).…”

Experiences of nurse educators regarding the use of the clinical skills laboratory at the School of Nursing in the Free State province

“…Similarly, the study conducted by Khoza (2015) agreed with the notion by stating that, indeed, the shortage of clinical instructors and laboratory technicians are major challenging factors leading to ineffective use of the clinical skills laboratory in teaching student nurses. The clinical environment is said to be effective when there are adequate material and human resources to support nurse educators to teach clinical learning activities to nursing students (Nachinab & Armstrong 2022). Therefore, employment of support staff is crucial to ensure support to nurse educators in effective use of the clinical laboratory as a teaching and learning environment.…”

Challenges of nursing students during clinical training: A nursing perspective

“…Nursing education is crucial for nursing professionals, and clinical training is a key component [1] . However, students often face challenges during clinical training, thus affecting their learning experience [19] . Identifying and addressing these challenges is essential for effective clinical training programs and is crucial to design interventions and implement improvements at the Nursing College, Northern Border University, thus enhancing the educational experience, and equipping students with the necessary skills.…”