Factors that Form the Learning Gap Between Clinical and Classroom Theories in Saudi Arabia Among Nursing Students

Abstract

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The paper discusses the various forces that form the learning gap between clinical and classroom theories in Saudi Arabia among nursing students. For instance, based on the increasing recognition of the need for patient safety, health and education institutions should focus on understanding the nursing students perspective based on their patient safety competence. The study will embark on analyzing self-reported patient safety competence among 191 nursing students in a public university based in Saudi Arabia. It will utilize the H-PEPSS tool to target the six major sociocultural scopes, which will assist in assessing the clinical and classroom environments competence among the nurses, hence depict the forces influencing the learning gap between clinical and classroom theories among nursing students in Saudi Arabia.

Key Words: Saudi Arabia, students, patients, clinical, classroom, nursing, safety

Table of Contents

Abstract 2
Introduction 4
Literature Review 4
Research Questions 6
Problem Statement 7
Purpose of Research 8
Significance of Research 9
Methodology 9
Expected Results 9
Conclusion 10

Introduction

While focusing on the broadening issue of patient safety, institutions that teach nursing in line with various health organizations should provide adequate care to support patient safety through effective education among nursing students, especially undergraduate students. Notably, necessity has emerged for improving the behaviors that exist between the actions that the students portray based on the influence of the clinical operating environment (Aliakbari, Parvin, Heidari, & Haghani, 2015). Through nursing education as well as learning in different parts of the world, the safety of patients has always served as a major area of concern. Education literature emphasizes the need for engaging the students with a patient safety early in facilitating for competence development. Supporting learning via clinical practice serves as a gold standard while providing professional education in health care since expertise becomes apparent in diverse patient encounters (Eta, Atanga, Atashili, & D'Cruz, 2011). Students have the capacity of retaining around 5 percent of the information they receive from lectures, while 75 percent retention rates prevail in case the students are subject to the practical environment for about six months (Alsenany & Al Saif, 2013). Provision of clinical education among the nursing students as well as the responsibility they direct toward nursing consumer places a significant burden among the faculty to offer practical opportunities as well as support safe practice. Suggestions exist that nurses show higher chances of recognizing, intercepting, and correcting any incidences of error that perceive as life threatening (Twentyman & Eaton, 2012).

Literature Review

Various research studies on examining the competence of nursing students competency exist in the case of offering patient safety while in the classroom as well as the clinical environment. From the studies, significant impact associated with competence on patient safety affects the quality and safety of the care process (Madhavanprabhakaran, Shukri, Hayudini, & Narayanan, 2013). Similarly, Heidari & Norouzadeh (2015) stipulates that the issue of the patient is serving as a major concern area in Saudi Arabia. Practicing nurses are under the pressure of boosting the safety of patients in the country, hence an indication that studies directed to the area essential. In a past study carried by Okoronkwo, Onyia-Pat, Agbo, Okpala, & Ndu (2013) to evaluate the attitudes and knowledge toward safety among undergraduate students taking nursing courses, it revealed that approximately 52.7 percent are efficient when it comes to understanding patient safety, although imperfect knowledge also exists among some nurses. Furthermore, various practicing nurses show levels of dissatisfaction in knowledge concerning patient safety (Ali, 2012).

In the present environment, Ali (2012) reveals that a large number of medical colleges based in Saudi Arabia have adopted the patient safety concept in the learning environment with the goal of enhancing professional education in health care delivery among the students. Bahari (2015) adds that education plays a significant role in fostering knowledge, attitudes, and skills development, which have the capacity to boost patient safety. As such, it is essential to capture the perspective of the health care providers based on the competence and knowledge they portray toward caring for patients. Nevertheless, Okoronkwo, Onyia-Pat, Agbo, Okpala, & Ndu (2013) argue that insufficient knowledge interferes with the preparation of the medical professionals when it comes to supporting the safety of the patients. Therefore, Eggertson (2013) supports that it is ideal to expose the students to the patient safety concept during their early undergraduate years, while it should also continue throughout their educational endeavors. In this sense, Bahari (2015) advocates that it is essential to evaluate competency toward patient safety during this level at both clinical and classroom environments to facilitate in determining the aspect required in supporting improvement while the students undergo their training. In the event of weaknesses when it comes to the issue of patient safety, it would be possible to rectify the problem while still serving as nursing students as opposed to the ones who are already in practice (Heidari & Norouzadeh, 2015).

From prior research, additional inquiry will be appropriate to meet the needs of the research. Additional research will revolve around identifying the various forces that hinder nurses from directing sufficient education toward nursing students in Saudi Arabia as well as the ideal theoretical framework that would assist in fostering nursing education to cope with the divers nursing student needs in the region. Furthermore, the research will entail identifying the diverse clinical interventions that would assist in ensuring that the theoretical components of nursing education in Saudi Arabia are applicable in the nursing practice as well as in motivating the students. Additionally, it will identify the strategies that would be appropriate in handling time pressure challenges apparent in the teaching and clinical setting to resolve the problems that exist between the teachers and students. Lastly, it will focus on revealing the ideal ways of addressing the gap prevailing between nurse educators and student numbers to facilitate in effective delivery of nursing education practice in the classroom and clinical setting. In this sense, it will be possible to identify the factors that form to the learning gap between clinical and classroom theories in Saudi Arabia among nursing students.

Research Questions

Based on the diverse issues hindering the delivery of effective nursing education in the classroom and classroom setting, the following research questions will serve as the areas of focus in facilitating cope with the prevailing challenges.

What forces make nursing educators fail to direct sufficient education to nursing education in Saudi Arabian context?

What ideal theoretical framework would assist in fostering the nursing education in Saudi Arabia to cope with the diverse student needs within the region?

What clinical interventions would assist in ensuring that the theoretical components of nursing education in Saudi Arabia are applicable in the nursing practice as well as in motivating the students?

What strategies would be appropriate in handling time pressure challenges apparent in the teaching and clinical setting to resolve the problems that exist between the teachers and students?

What would be the ideal way of addressing the gap prevailing between nurse educators and student numbers to facilitate in effective delivery of nursing education practice in the classroom and clinical setting?

Problem Statement

Globally, clinical teaching serves as a vital part in the provision of nursing education. Literature reveals that clinical learning faces challenges from numerous forces, which comprise of teachers and leaders characteristics, and quality of feedback and supervision. Nursing education lacks sufficient attention from various Saudi Arabia nurse educators. It encounters challenges from absence of solid theoretical framework required for informing participants. Substantial research also lacks in the clinical teaching area, which serves as the major area of emphasis among the students pursuing nursing education. Moreover, clinical education in Saudi Arabia suffers from lack of effectiveness, an indication that active clinical setting interventions would play an essential role with respect to ensuring that the theoretical components become applicable in practice as well as in motivating the students.

Clinical environment teaching in Saudi Arabia encounters numerous challenges, such as time pressure, which hinders the activities of everyone. Notable deficits and problems also exist, which serve as barriers toward fostering ideal clinical teaching environments. The barriers revolve around the problems prevailing between teachers and students. The challenges that nursing educators encounter lack clear expectations and objectives as well as inadequate feedback and supervision. The students usually lack ideal opportunities for reflecting or discussing as well as lack continuity within the curriculum.

An additional problem that prevails in the clinical setting revolves around the nursing educators numbers, which is less when compared to the prevailing student number. The rapid rise in nursing students admission poses challenges with respect to meeting all their need with the limited number of clinical educators. In addition, a considerable number of nursing educators usually lack the ideal competencies to allow them adopt effective strategies for teaching through teaching methods, communication skills and capacity to boost the motivation of the students who are negatively influenced in the process of teaching. Here, insufficient preparation by clinical instructors before adopting teaching has significant influence on the learning process. As such, it is vital for the clinical educators to take time to understand what hinders or facilitates the learning process to determine effective ways of educating the nursing students to become competent. They should focus on adopting the ideal learning theories as well as focus on structuring the learning environment, hence ensure they get sufficient skills and knowledge of the material the students can use tom learn in the educational, social, and clinical context.

Purpose of Research

The purpose of the research is to propose ways of graduating clinically competent students. The research will reveal the importance of providing theoretical knowledge in nursing education through educational and clinical practice. It will show that nursing students need more than just the customary theoretical classroom mode of teaching, since the nursing environment offers more than just classroom talking. Furthermore, the clinical practices will assist in increasing the knowledge of the students, their capability to synthesize the theoretical knowledge they obtain in class as well as in nursing care. Furthermore, the research will reveal the way nursing stud...