Nurse educators’ experiences and perspectives of incivility among nursing students in a South African school of nursing

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Date

2014

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Abstract

This study presents a synthesis of the experiences and perspectives of nurse educators regarding uncivil classroom behaviours of nursing students in a school of nursing. Using a descriptive, phenomenological design, 11 nurse educators were purposively sampled for their experiences and knowledge of the phenomenon under study. The participants provided data as individuals in face-to-face interviews until data were saturated. Participation was voluntary; discussions were confidential, with no names traceable to specific data. Data analysis indicated that the nurse educators had varying experiences with incivility among nursing students. Acts of incivility included coming to class late, cell phone use, noise making, sleeping in class, classroom attendance fraud, fraud in assignments, examinations and tests, direct and indirect physical aggression, intimidation and verbal aggression through disputes, confrontations, inappropriate language and verbal threats, with three resultant themes of disruptions, fraud and aggression. Discussions of the findings were on the basis of their implications for professional leadership imperatives for nursing. The described acts of incivility were believed to be affecting student-educator relationships, the quality of education and the professional future and leadership of nursing. Nurse educators or nurse leaders who may be dealing with issues of maintaining professional nursing ethics, or requiring understanding of uncivil behaviour among younger generations of nurses in schools or colleges of nursing, may significantly benefit from the information provided by the findings of this study.

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Keywords

Civil, Incivility, Nurse educators, Nursing students

Citation

Vink, H.J. & Adejumo, O. (2014). Nurse educators’ experiences and perspectives of incivility among nursing students in a South African school of nursing. African Journal for Physical, Health Education, Recreation and Dance, Supplement 1(1): 166-178.