Undergraduate Nursing Students’ Experiences of Clinical Supervision at a University in Mozambique

Abstract

Objective: To describe the experiences of final year nursing students at the Catholic University of Mozambique regarding the clinical supervision done by nursing technicians. Method: A qualitative-phenomenological study carried out with final year nursing students at the Catholic University of Mozambique. The in-depth interview was the technique used to collect data, which was analyzed using Content Analysis. Results: The results were divided into four main categories that emerged from the analysis of the interviews and are related to 1) the students' perception of the academic supervisor, highlighted by the presence and absence of teaching staff in the clinical setting; 2) the clinical supervisor made explicit by the nursing technical supervisors, with subcategories on the higher level student as a threat to the technical nurse, tension in the relationship between clinical supervisors and students, disposition and reaction of clinical supervisors; 3) the context, represented by the lack of material and human resources, cultural diversity and the COVID-19 pandemic; and 4) the perception about themselves as students, divided into lack of orientation in the clinical setting, living the clinical practice as a nightmare and hope during the experience. Some proposals for improvement are also presented. Conclusion: The results of this study have helped to describe the phenomenon studied, revealing the students’ perception about clinical supervision and the effect of the context that this relationship develops. These results will help to evaluate how to improve clinical supervision by identifying an innovative model to follow. This action is essential for the professional development of nursing students.