Abstract
Clinical environment expands knowledge and experience in nursing skills. Clinical setting is the backbone area of nursing because it is where practice takes place. It enables the achievement of learning outcomes which are therefore crucial in clarifying the nature of skills to learn, comprehend and apply in practice. Exposure to clinical environment prepares students for practice. Students are exposed to clinical setting integrate theory to practice, increase knowledge learned in class and acquire nursing skills. However, students experience challenges when transiting from the classroom to clinical environment which impact on their learning. Integration of theory to practice gives the students the opportunity to work in real situations where they engage with patients when doing nursing procedures, communicate and even respond to questions. Initial exposure is considered a vital period, as it can influence their career choice moving forward. Students can have varying responses based on personal experience. Some might decide to discontinue training, while others will persist despite the challenges.
The purpose of the study was to explore and describe the experiences of first year student during transition from class to clinical setting at a public hospital in Gauteng Province and make recommendations on how to facilitate transition. A purposive sampling method was used to select the first year students registered with South African Nursing Council from Gauteng College of Nursing at a selected campus placed at public hospital in Gauteng who were willing to participate.
In this study, a qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual design was employed. The current study focused on the exploration and description of the experiences of first year students during transition from class to clinical setting at a public hospital in Gauteng and making recommendations on how to facilitate transition. Data collection was achieved through focus group interviews and analysed using five steps of Giorgi’s descriptive data analysis. Sample size was dependent on data saturation. Trustworthiness of the study was established through credibility, transferability, dependability and confirmability as described by Lincoln & Guba. Ethical principles were adhered to throughout the study.
From data analysed one central theme emerged, which reflected that students experienced transition from class to clinical setting negatively. Four main themes that emerged were theory and practice gap, inability to meet the learning requirements adequately, lack of support, and limited resources. The main themes and related subthemes were conceptualised integrated into relevant literature. Recommendations to facilitate transition from class to clinical setting were made.