Experiences of Student Nurses and Midwives at Selected Hospitals in the Volta Region of Ghana

Introduction: Nursing and midwifery are practice-based professions and require that student nurses and midwives learn how to become professional nurses and midwives in the clinical environment. Evidence obtained from research studies demonstrate that student nurses and midwives have various experiences during clinical placements. Though there are eighteen hospitals in the Volta Regions of Ghana that serve as clinical training environments for six nursing and midwifery schools, a search of literature identified no study on the experiences of student nurses and midwives in these clinical settings.

Aim: This study sought to explore the experiences of student nurses and midwives in clinical placement in selected hospitals in the Volta Region of Ghana.

Materials and Methods: This study was conducted using exploratory qualitative design. Data was analysed using qualitative content analysis. Thirty student nurses and midwives who were placed in the Volta Regional Hospital, Ho Municipal Hospital and Keta Municipal Hospital of Ghana were interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide. Recorded interviews were transcribed, reviewed several times by researcher, and analysed using content analysis.

Findings: Four main thematic categories were identified; 1. Nursing and midwifery practice is honourable but a sacrifice. 2. Missed objectives and expectations during clinical placements; 3. Experiences of fears and anxieties before and during clinical placement; 4. Poor interpersonal relations between students and staff during clinical placement.

Conclusion: A supportive clinical learning environment is a pre-requisite to acquisition of skills in the clinical setting by nursing and midwifery students. Provision of supportive clinical learning environment for student nurses and midwives is the responsibilities of both nursing schools and health facilities. Ghanaian nursing schools may also explore the subject of simulation in skills laboratory in areas where students do not benefit during clinical placements.