PRECEPTORS’ EXPERIENCES AND PRECEPTEES’ VIEWS REGARDING THE CLINICAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT FOR NURSING IN THE BUEA REGIONAL HOSPITAL, CAMEROON

Background: Clinical teaching is the most important part of nursing education and the role preceptors play in clinical teaching and learning cannot be over emphasised. Students require a conducive clinical environment to allow the application of theory to practice. Objectives: This study sought to describe preceptors’ experiences and views of preceptees regarding the clinical learning environment. Methods: A hospital-based quantitative and qualitative (mixed method) descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in a typical clinical learning environment in the Buea Regional Hospital. The population was made up of staff nurses (preceptors) and student nurses (preceptees) on clinical placement at the BRH. Purposive and convenient techniques were used to select the study site and enrolled study participants respectively. A self-administered questionnaire and an interview guide were used to collect data. Data was analysed using SPSS software and thematic analysis respectively. Results: A total of 14 preceptors and 112 preceptees participated in the study. In general, 36(32.1%) of preceptees fully agreed there was a positive atmosphere in the ward, 34.8% of them indicated that preceptors organised separate supervisory sessions once a week, while 16.6% of the preceptees said that preceptors do not organise supervisory sessions at all. There was significant positive relationship between the method of supervision and the level of satisfaction of preceptees (r=0. 295, p=0. 002). Regarding their experiences, the preceptors made mention of positive experiences such as hard working students, encouraging teachers, increased use of internet facilities. Negative experiences reported were, language barrier, lack of zeal to work and short duration of training. Conclusion: Even though there was a positive atmosphere in the ward, most students complained of not being comfortable during clinical learning. The preceptors had both positive and negative experiences which were both student and facility oriented. It is recommended that training schools and the hospital should endeavour to create an environment that is conducive for training of nursing students.