Facilitating the Development of Clinical Competence in a Low-Resource Setting: Perceptions and Challenges of Nurse Educators

Abstract

Background: The inability of nursing education institutions, particularly in low-resource settings to train competent nurses has been partly attributed to the challenges faced by nurse educators in the teaching of practical skills and in facilitating the development of clinical competence. Unfortunately, the perceptions and challenges faced by nurse educators in clinical nursing educationin diploma nursing education in low-resource settings have not been explored.Purpose: This study aimed to explore and describe the perceptions and challenges of nurse educators in the teaching of practical skills and in facilitating the development of clinical competence in diploma nursing education in Ghana, a low-resource setting. Methods: A qualitative descriptive design was used in this study. Nine nurse educators tasked with teaching practical skills and facilitating the development of clinical competence from three accredited diploma-awarding public nursing colleges – one in each of the three geographical zones of Ghana – were purposively sampled and interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide. The data were  analysed with the aid of ATLAS.ti software through the thematic framework approach of qualitative data analysis.Results: Four themes, namely nurse educator and student factors, skills learning environment factors, institutional challenges, and regulatory issues, were identified and described the challenges of practical skills teaching and clinical competence development confronting nurse educators in the study setting.Conclusion: To address these challenges, policy measures should be implemented to ensure adequate national investment in nursing education and incentives to promote nurse educator development and performance. Nurse educators and their labour union should therefore strongly advocate for this transformation in nursing education.