Guidelines for the development of the generic nursing programme in Zimbabwe

Abstract

The predominant trend in nursing education in Zimbabwe is the hospital-based apprenticeship model. Globally, there has been a shift from a hospital-based model to a university-based one. When a new nursing programme is introduced in Zimbabwe, the institution presenting the programme is solely responsible for developing guidelines for running it. The institution in most cases has inadequate infrastructure, human, financial and material resources, and will lack the capacity to develop the guidelines. As a nurse educator, the researcher noticed with concern that newly introduced nurse education programmes in Zimbabwe soon faced problems because they were introduced without clear guidelines. This made their implementation difficult. The purpose of the study was to develop guidelines for the Generic Nursing Programme (GNP), a four-year Bachelor of Science Honours Nursing degree. The GNP will balance clinical practice and theory in order to produce nurses who can meet diverse patients’ needs; function as leaders; advance science that benefits patients, and deliver quality, safe patient care. The researcher used Walt and Gilson’s (1994) policy analysis framework as the theoretical framework for the study. Their policy triangle framework is grounded in a political economy perspective, and considers how the four elements of content, context, actors and processes interact to shape policy-making. The study was a qualitative, explorative case study. Data was collected from forty-nine purposively selected participants by means of semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions and the Delphi technique. The study found that the content of the GNP should include sciences, nursing courses, social sciences and practical component courses. The GNP should be developed in an environment with adequate resources and will hinge on the economic and political situation since that will determine available resources. The actors involved in the development should include the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare; the Nurses Council of Zimbabwe; nurse educators; nurses working in the clinical area, and curriculum committee members of the university that will offer the GNP. The guidelines should ensure good quality nursing education for nursing students, and prevent inconsistencies in and the failure of the GNP.