Factors influencing clinical competence of new graduate nurses employed in selected public hospitals of North West Province: Operational Managers’ perspectives

Background

Nurses have always been regarded as the backbone of the healthcare system, hence the need for a competent workforce in provision of quality care.

Purpose

To report on factors influencing clinical competence of new graduate nurses as perceived by operational managers and to make recommendations for the mitigation of those perceived factors.

Methods

An exploratory and descriptive qualitative research was conducted in specific public hospitals of the North West Province, South Africa. A purposive sampling technique was used to select operational managers from different nursing units. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were used for data collection during four focus group discussions and eight in-depth interviews. The six steps of thematic analysis were then used to analyse the transcribed data.

Results

The research participants described identified determinants that influence clinical competencies of new graduate nurses during the early years in their nursing careers. The identified factors were related to: 1) Nursing education and training system; 2) Health care system and institutional systems.

Conclusion

The study concluded that, it is imperative for nursing education and training as well as the health policy makers to take the responsibility of strengthening endorsements on clinical competence of new graduate nurses to improve on quality nursing care rendered in South Africa.

Implications for practice

Nursing Practice and Nursing Education and Training Directorates should begin to re-imagine innovative ways of integrating theory with practice in an effort to assist the new graduate nurses to fortify their clinical competence early in their professional voyage of rendering quality nursing care in South Africa.