Perceptions of student nurses regarding ethical socialisation into the nursing profession in the North West province, South Africa

Abstract

Literature shows that research focusing on ethical socialisation of nursing students is scarce. Most studies conducted on this topic have focused on nurses who are qualified and are products of the nursing education socialisation. This study aimed to explore and describe the perceptions of student nurses regarding ethical socialisation into the nursing profession in public nursing colleges in the North West province, South Africa. A qualitative-exploratory-descriptive and contextual research design was used to achieve the main aim of the study. A non-probability purposive sampling technique was used to select participants from level three and four. Four focus group discussions were used to collect and analyse data. Each group consisted of seven participants. Three themes emerged from the findings of the study namely, dissatisfaction with the teaching of ethos of professional practice module, nurse educators as role models as well as concerns regarding recruitment and selection of nursing students. The findings of this study show that there is a need to align the curriculum guidelines to accommodate the current demographic changes with a program that will build a meaningful faculty-student relationship in order to address issues that are not necessarily academic in nature. Nurse educators need to follow the three categories of creating a context for learning, a context of rehearsal as well as a context for mirroring identity to reconcile their professional identity; the hidden curriculum could be enhanced by attending workshops on the ethics of the nursing profession. During the recruitment and selection process, interviews should identify the standards of competence required for a nursing graduate on completion of the training programme.