Factors That Hinder the Performance of Student Nurses in Public Hospitals - A Case Study of the Greater Accra Regional Hospital

Abstract

The study was on the factors or challenges that hinder or affect the performance of Student-National Service/Rotation Nurses in the clinical area (Greater Accra Regional Hospital). The study explored the challenges faced by these nurses during their three year and four year study in the training colleges and university respectively and again during their rotation. This was undertaken to address the issues and make recommendations using the qualitative approach. The study was conducted at the Greater Accra Regional Hospital (GARH), which is a four hundred and twenty bed hospital. It offers a twenty four hour service and is a public hospital. It has the departments of Surgery, Medicine, Paediatrics and Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Allied Surgery which includes Eye, ENT services, Diethetics and Physiotherapy. Apart from these, it offers Urological, Orthopaedic and Neurosurgical services. For diagnostics, it offers imaging (radiology), cardio-tomography, ultrasonography, mammography and laboratory services. Most of the medical, laboratory, radiology, physiotherapy, diethetics, nursing and midwifery students go to the hospital for their clinical practice and internship. The instrument used for the study was that of qualitative and in-depth interviews were held among which ten student-national service/rotation nurses from other facilities on internship at the hospital were individually interviewed whereas the seventy within the hospital had focus group interviews and discussion. The findings revealed the challenges these national service/rotation nurses had during their three and four year training as compared to their challenges currently as rotation nurses. The challenges were put under themes namely: Educational, Clinical and Socioeconomic. The national service/rotation nurses faced challenges such as the inability to apply the theory learnt in school to the practice at the clinical area. They faced the challenge of poor interpersonal relationship with the clinical staff and with socioeconomic, accommodation and transportation.