Validation of a clinical competence evaluation tool for community service nurses in North West province, South Africa

Background: Little has been done to evaluate clinical competence of community service nurses (CSNs) during the 12-month compulsory community service in South Africa. Evaluating clinical competence of CSNs would be of benefit as it might improve quality patient care and promote patient satisfaction. It therefore became of paramount importance for the researcher to establish some method of evaluating the CSNs’ clinical competence during their compulsory service in the North West province (NWP), South Africa.Aim: To evaluate the clinical competence evaluation tool (CCET) for CSNs for reliability and validity.Setting: A selected regional level 2 hospital.Methods: Ten experts participated in the validation process. The tool was tested at one of the public hospitals in the NWP and 11 out of 13 CSNs participated in this process. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 25 was employed and the reliability of the tool was measured using Cronbach’s alpha.Results: This tool’s content validity index has exceeded 0.80 and is indicated at 0.98, which reflects excellent content validity. The higher the content validity ratio score the greater the agreement amongst the experts. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficients in the six competencies are all greater than 0.7 implying that the tool developed in this study is reliable. All the experts indicated that the tool is clear, simple, general, accessible and important.Conclusion: From the above-mentioned results, a CCET for CSNs was proven to be valid and reliable.Contribution: This was the first tool to be developed in NWP of South Africa.

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Professional nurses’ perceptions regarding clinical competence of community service nurses in North West province, South Africa

Health SA Gesondheid ◽

10.4102/hsag.v26i0.1688 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 26 ◽

Author(s):

Kholofelo L. Matlhaba ◽

Abel J. Pienaar ◽

Leepile A. Sehularo

Keyword(s):

Focus Group ◽

Community Service ◽

Clinical Competence ◽

Public Hospitals ◽

Focus Group Discussions ◽

Group Discussions ◽

North West ◽

The North ◽

North West Province ◽

Professional Nurses

Background: South African Nursing Council requires nurses who successfully complete their training to perform a year of community service before obtaining registration as professional nurses (Regulation 425). Community service for health professionals was introduced as a strategy to retain newly qualified professionals within the country. The premise is that community service for newly graduated nurses gives them the opportunity to develop skills and acquire knowledge critical in their professional development.Aim: To explore and describe the perceptions of professional nurses as the supervisors of community service nurses (CSNs) during their 12 months of community service.Setting: Selected hospitals of the North West province, South Africa.Methods: A qualitative, exploratory and descriptive design was used. The study was conducted between September and November 2018 at three public hospitals in the North West province. Through purposive sampling, 15 professional nurses who supervise CSNs participated in the study. Data were collected in three focus group discussions using semi-structured questions. All focus group discussions were recorded and transcribed for analysis. Data were analysed using Pienaar’s four steps of thematic analysis.Results: Three themes emerged: perceptions of clinical competence, challenges impacting clinical competence and suggestions to improve clinical competence.Conclusion: It is suggested that even though the majority of CSNs were perceived to be competent and capable of working independently, they still required supervision and mentorship to refine their competency. Furthermore, the study reported similar challenges noted from previous studies that were perceived to be affecting CSNs’ ability to deliver quality health care, and therefore recommendations for improvement were made.Contribution: The study contributed to the developed the clinical competence evaluation tool which will be of benefit to the future community service nurses in the province.

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Challenges in implementing continuous support during childbirth in selected public hospitals in the North West Province of South Africa

Health SA Gesondheid ◽

10.4102/hsag.v23i0.1068 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 23 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Nobelungu S. Spencer ◽

Antoinette Du Preez ◽

Catharina S. Minnie

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Cochrane Review ◽

Public Hospitals ◽

North West ◽

The North ◽

North West Province ◽

Continuous Support ◽

Group Interviews ◽

Personal Challenges

Background: According to a Cochrane review, continuous support during childbirth increases the mother’s chances of a vaginal birth without identified adverse effects. However, this evidence-based practice is not universally implemented. The objective of the study was to identify challenges encountered in implementing continuous support during childbirth in public hospitals in the North West Province of South Africa. Method: An explorative, descriptive and contextual qualitative approach was used. The data were collected during 2013 by conducting focus group interviews with 33 registered midwives who had worked in maternity units in three selected public hospitals in the North West Province for at least two years. Results: Midwives identified challenges that negatively impacted the implementation of continuous support during childbirth at organisational and interpersonal levels. At the organisational level, challenges included human resources, policies and guidelines as well as the architectural outlay of the maternity units. The personal challenges related to communication and attitudes of nurses, patients and their families. Conclusions: Organisational and personal challenges had a negative impact on the provision of continuous care during childbirth.

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Community service nurses’ experiences regarding their clinical competence

Health SA Gesondheid ◽

10.4102/hsag.v24i0.1284 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 24 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Kholofelo L. Matlhaba ◽

Abel J. Pienaar ◽

Leepile A. Sehularo

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Community Service ◽

Clinical Competence ◽

Clinical Skills ◽

Sampling Technique ◽

Cluster Sampling ◽

Regulatory Body ◽

Evaluation Tool ◽

North West ◽

College Of Nursing

Background: In South Africa, it is mandatory for nurses who have qualified as a nurse (general, psychiatric and community) and midwifery, leading to registration in Government Gazette Notice No. R425 of 22 February 1985, to perform 12 months’ compulsory community service after completion of training at a College of Nursing. Community service affords new graduate nurses the opportunity to improve their clinical skills and knowledge while nurturing professional behavioural patterns and critical thinking consistent with the profession.Aim: To explore and describe the experiences of community service nurses (CSNs) regarding clinical competence during their placement in three selected hospitals.Setting: The study setting was North West Province (NWP), South Africa.Method: This study followed a qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual research design. A cluster sampling technique was used and 17 CSNs participated in the study. Three focus group discussions framed by semi-structured questions were conducted with five to six participants per group. All discussions were recorded using a digital voice recorder and transcribed. Data were analysed using Pienaar’s four steps of qualitative thematic analysis.Results: Four themes emerged from this study: facilitative experiences, defacilitative experiences, challenges confronted during placement and suggestions to improve clinical competence.Conclusion: Clinical competence of CSNs could be improved if all the stakeholders, including professional nurses and CSNs themselves, hospital management and the regulatory body, the South African Nursing Council, collaborate. More importantly, this study’s results were used to develop a clinical competence evaluation tool in the NWP, South Africa.

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