Abstract
Abstract : Student nurses are expected to implement a caring practice in order to become professional nurses. Role-modelling of caring is one of the learning opportunities in clinical nursing education. It is of concern that student nurses may witness some of the uncaring behaviours that are modelled to them by professional nurses during clinical practice. Research Purpose: To gain an understanding of student nurses’ experiences of professional nurses’ role-modelling of caring in a public hospital in order to formulate recommendations to facilitate professional nurses’ role-modelling of caring in a public hospital. Methods: A qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual design was used. Purposive sampling of fourth-year student nurses (Regulation R425 of 22 February 1985). Data collection: focus groups, observations and field notes. The data were analysed using Giorgi’s five-step method. Ethical principles of autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence and justice were respected. Results: Three themes were identified. Theme 1: The experiences of the situational nature of various clinical environments render professional nurses either effective or ineffective role-models of caring. Theme 2: Experiences effective and ineffective rolemodelling of caring. Theme 3: Student nurses experience carelessness cascading.
M.Cur. (Community Nursing Sciences)