skip to main content

Quality of Clinical Nursing Education Programme in Ghana: Preceptors’ Perspectives

*Gilbert Ti-enkawol Nachinab orcid  -  Department of Nursing Education, School of Therapeutic Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Ghana
Susan Jennifer Armstrong  -  Department of Nursing Education, School of Therapeutic Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa
Open Access Copyright (c) 2022 Nurse Media Journal of Nursing
Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Citation Format:
Abstract

Background: Clinical education is an important component of the training of nursing students. Preceptors play a key role in the clinical education of nursing students by providing support for the students during clinical placement. There is dearth of studies in the Ghanaian context that has assessed preceptors’ perception of clinical nursing.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess preceptors’ perceptions of the quality of clinical nursing education in Northern Ghana.

Methods: This study was a cross-sectional survey conducted using an already existing questionnaire. Three hundred and nineteen (319) preceptors recruited from three hospitals participated in the study. A proportional quota sampling technique was used to allocate the sample size to the three hospitals and a simple random sampling technique was used to select the participants. The data were analysed using Stata version 15 and the results were presented using descriptive and inferential statistics.

Results: The study findings indicate that the preceptors’ generally perceived that the quality of clinical placement area and clinical assessment were slightly above average as they scored each of them 2.30 on a scale of 0-4 (95% CI:2.21-2.39). The preceptors also perceived that the quality of clinical teaching and learning was average as the they scored it 2.04 on a scale of 0-4 (95% CI:1.95-2.13). Also, the preceptors had a lower level of agreement, 1.75 on a scale of 0-4 (95% CI:2.15 -2.45) regarding teaching and development of the students being the responsibility of only the university.

Conclusion: Preceptors perceived that nursing education institutions and clinical facilities need to work together to improve clinical nursing education. This calls for the need for an effective collaboration between clinical facilities and nursing education institutions to develop training programmes for preceptors to improve their skills in clinical teaching and clinical assessment of students.
Fulltext View|Download
Keywords: Clinical education; Ghana; nursing; preceptors; quality
Funding: University of the Witwatersrand Postgraduate Merit Award

Article Metrics:

  1. Anim-Boamah, O., Christmals, C. Dela, & Armstrong, S. J. (2021). Nursing students’ experiences on clinical competency assessment in Ghana. Nurse Media Journal of Nursing, 11(3), 278–293. https://doi.org/10.14710/nmjn.v11i3.39079
  2. Anim-Boamah, O., Christmals, C. Dela, & Armstrong, S. J. (2022). The clinical nursing competency assessment system of Ghana: Perspectives of key informants. SAGE Open, 12(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440221089960
  3. Asirifi, M. A., Mill, J. E., Myrick, F., & Richardson, G. (2017). Implementation of preceptorship in Ghana : “ Marriage between school and clinical settings ”. Quality Advancement in Nursing Education, 3(2), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.17483/2368-6669.1118
  4. Atakro, C. A., Armah, E., Menlah, A., Garti, I., Addo, S. B., Adatara, P., & Boni, G. S. (2019). Clinical placement experiences by undergraduate nursing students in selected teaching hospitals in Ghana. BMC Nursing, 18(1), 1–11
  5. Bani-issa, W., Tamimi, M. Al, Fakhry, R., & Tawil, H. Al. (2019). Experiences of nursing students and examiners with the Objective Structured Clinical Examination method in physical assessment education : A mixed methods study. Nurse Education in Practice, 35, 83–89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nepr.2019.01.006
  6. Bazrafkan, L., & Kalyani, M. N. (2018). Experiences of clinical education: A qualitative study nursing students. Nurse Education and Research, 36(3), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.17533/udea.iee.v36n3a04
  7. Bengtsson, M., & Carlson, E. (2015). Knowledge and skills needed to improve as preceptor: Development of a continuous professional development course – A qualitative study part 1. BMC Nursing, 14(51), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-015-0103-9
  8. Botma, Y., Jeggels, J., & Uys, L. (2012). Preparation of clinical preceptors. Trends in Nursing, 1(1), 67. https://doi.org/10.14804/1-1-25
  9. Bujang, M. A., Omar, E. D., & Baharum, N. A. (2018). A review on sample size determination for cronbach’s alpha test: A simple guide for researchers. Malaysian Journal of Medical Sciencies, 25(6), 85–99. https://doi.org/10. 21315/mjms2018.25.6.9
  10. Cândida, R., Pereira, D. C., Queirós, P. J., Tanaka, L. H., Costa, P. J., Isabel, C., Bogalho, D. D., Isabel, P., & Oliveira, F. (2017). Undergraduate nursing students’ difficulties during clinical training: Perception of the main causes. Revista de Enfermagem Referência, 4(15), 55–62. https://doi.org/10.12707/RIV17059
  11. Chan, S. W. C., & Wai-Tong, C. (2000). Implementing contract learning in a clinical context: Report on a study. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 31(2), 298–305. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2648.2000.01297.x
  12. Direko, K. K., & Davhana-Maselesele, M. (2017). A model of collaboration between nursing education institutions in the North West Province of South Africa. Curationis, 40(1), e1–e10. https://doi.org/10.4102/curationis.v40i1.1670
  13. Girotto, L. C., Enns, S. C., Oliveira, M. S. De, Mayer, F. B., Perotta, B., Santos, I. S., & Tempski, P. (2019). Preceptors ’ perception of their role as educators and professionals in a health system. BMC Medical Education, 19(203), 4–11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-019-1642-7
  14. Henderson, A., Harrison, P., Rowe, J., Edwards, S., Barnes, M., Henderson, S., & Henderson, A. (2018). Students take the lead for learning in practice: A process for building self-efficacy into undergraduate nursing education. Nurse Education in Practice, 31(April), 14–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nepr.2018.04.003
  15. Kananu, E., Mugoh, N., Wanjira, M., & Kamau, N. (2020). Influence of students perception / staff attitude in the clinical areas on student’s learning in mathare teaching and referral hospital, Nairobi, Kenya. American Journal of Nursing Science, 9(2), 47–54. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajns.20200902.11
  16. Madhavanpraphakaran, G. K., Shukri, R. K., & Balachandran, S. (2013). Preceptors’ perceptions of clinical nursing. Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing, 45(10), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.3928/00220124-2014xxxx-xx
  17. Maguire, D. J., Zambroski, C. H., & Cadena, S. V. (2012). Using a clinical collaborative model for nursing education: Application for clinical teaching. Nurse Educator, 37(2), 80–85. https://doi.org/10.1097/NNE.0b013e3182461bb6
  18. Mbakaya, B. C., Kalembo, F. W., Zgambo, M., Konyani, A., Lungu, F., Tveit, B., Kaasen, A., Simango, M., & Bvumbwe, T. (2020). Nursing and midwifery students’ experiences and perception of their clinical learning environment in Malawi: A mixed method study. BMC Nursing, 19(1), 1-14. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.2.21534/v1
  19. McSharry, E., & Lathlean, J. (2017). Clinical teaching and learning within a preceptorship model in an acute care hospital in Ireland: A qualitative study. Nurse Education Today, 51, 73–80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2017.01.007
  20. Mhango, L., Jere, D., Msiska, G., Chorwe-Sungani, G., & Chirwa, E. (2021). The roles and experiences of preceptors in clinical teaching of undergraduate nursing and midwifery students in Malawi. Malawi Medical Journal: The Journal of Medical Association of Malawi, 33(Postgraduate Iss), 35–39. https://doi.org/10.4314/mmj.v33iS.7
  21. Moonaghi, H. K., Mirhaghi, A., Oladi, S., & Zeydi, A. E. (2015). A journey across an unwelcoming field: A qualitative study exploring the factors influencing nursing students’ clinical education. Health Science Journal, 9(4), 1–7. http://journals.imedpub.com
  22. Nachinab, G. T., & Armstrong, S. J. (2022). Unveiling how clinical nursing education can be improved in Northern Ghana: The perspectives of key informants. Sage Open Nursing, 8, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1177/23779608221097162
  23. Needham, J., McMurray, A., & Shaban, R. Z. (2016). Best practice in clinical facilitation of undergraduate nursing students. Nurse Education in Practice, 20, 131–138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nepr.2016.08.003
  24. Panzavecchia, L., & Pearce, R. (2014). Are preceptors adequately prepared for their role in supporting newly qualified staff ? Nurse Education Today, 34(7), 1119–1124. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2014.03.001
  25. Peter, Z. P. (2008). An evaluation of clinical facilitation in the nursing college of the Eastern Cape Province [Master's thesis, Stellenbosch University]. https://scholar.sun.ac.za/bitstream/handle/10019.1/1038/peter_evaluation_2008.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
  26. Polit, F. D., Beck, C. T. (2010). Essentials of nursing research: Appraising evidence for nursing practice (7th Ed). Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
  27. Rajeswaran, L. (2017). Clinical experiences of nursing students at a selected institute of health sciences in Botswana. Health Science Journal, 10(6), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.21767/1791-809x.1000471
  28. Rokhafrooz, D., Alborzi, Z., Shustari, S. S. G. Z., & Heydari, M. (2022). Nursing students perception of the educational environment in a public university in Ahvaz, Iran: A Study based on DREEM questionnaire. Nurse Media Journal of Nursing, 12(1), 88–99. https://doi.org/10.14710/nmjn.v12i1.41727
  29. Ryan, C., & McAllister, M. (2019). The experiences of clinical facilitators working with nursing students in Australia: An interpretive description. Collegian, 26(2), 281–287. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.colegn.2018.07.005
  30. Sajadi, M., Fayazi, N., Fournier, A., & Abedi, A. R. (2017). The impact of the learning contract on self-directed learning and satisfaction in nursing students in a clinical setting. Medical Journal of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 31(1), 414–418. https://doi.org/10.14196/MJIRI.31.72
  31. Salifu, D. A., Gross, J., Salifu, M. A., & Ninnoni, J. P. K. (2019). Experiences and perceptions of the theory-practice gap in nursing in a resource-constrained setting: A qualitative description study. Nursing Open, 6(1), 72–83. https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.188
  32. Wu, X. V., Enskär, K., Pua, L. H., Heng, D. G. & Wang, W. (2017). Clinical nurse leaders’ and academics’ perspectives in clinical assessment of final-year nursing students: A qualitative study. Nursing and Health Sciences, 19, 287–293. https://doi.org/10.1111/nhs.12342
  33. Xaba, N. P. (2015). An assessment of the facilitation of the clinical training component of the undergraduate nursing programme [Master's thesis, Durban University of Technology]. ttps://openscholar.dut.ac.za/bitstream/10321/1319/1/XABA_2015.pdf
  34. Yamane, T. (1967). Elementary sampling theory. Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs

Last update:

  1. The development of a framework for clinical education programme of undergraduate nursing students in Ghana

    Gilbert Ti-enkawol Nachinab, Susan Jennifer Armstrong. BMC Nursing, 23 (1), 2024. doi: 10.1186/s12912-024-01915-y

Last update: 2024-11-01 16:09:38

No citation recorded.