Student nurses' experience of clinical accompaniment in a public hospital in Gauteng Province

Abstract

Clinical practice is the core of nursing education during which the student is socialized into the nursing profession. During this period, there is transfer of knowledge and skill from qualified nurses and other members of the multidisciplinary team to student nurses. The purpose of this study is to describe and explore student nurse’s experiences of clinical accompaniment in a public hospital in Gauteng Province by means of a qualitative approach that included the exploratory, descriptive and contextual study. Three focus group interviews were conducted with students and one with clinical accompanists. Qualitative methods included categorizing and coding. The major findings of the research revealed that participants regarded relationships and communication as important for clinical accompaniment. Both student nurses and unit supervisors expected nurse facilitators to accompany students in clinical settings; but some hospital staff members did not perceive clinical accompaniment to be their task.