Abstract
M.Cur.
It is quite explicit that transformation in nursing education on clinical
accompaniment of the critical care nursing students in the private hospital critical
care units is inevitable. It is needed to accommodate the demands made that
nurses should make rapid decisions in the crisis situations, taking responsibility
that were previously of those of the physicians resulting in the increased
complexity of decision-making.
The decision-making skills demands that the nurses should develop the ability for
the analytical, critical evaluation, critical thinking and ability of independent
judgement of the scientific data as stated by the South African Nursing Council
Regulation 2118 (1983:2). It also demands that the registered nurses working in
the critical care units be suitably trained by completion of the Intensive Care
Nursing Science course as specified by the South African Nursing Council
Regulation 85 as amended (Nursing Act of 1978). The critical care nurses are
required to integrate both the knowledge of the highly sophisticated technological
equipment and also the understanding of the complex patient's problems.
It is also explicit that, there is a need to develop the guidelines on clinical
accompaniment of the critical care nursing students in the private hospital critical
care units as no written guidelines are available.
The overall objective of the study is to describe the guidelines on clinical
accompaniment of the critical care nursing students in the private hospital critical
care units. The guidelines will be utilised as a point of departure for the
facilitation of attainment of quality/excellency in nursing education, skills or
competency of the critical care nursing students in the private hospital critical care
units.