| dc.description.abstract | Nurses work in various health care settings and represent the universal entry access for
roughly 90% of healthcare users hence effective graduation of qualified nurses with
necessary abilities is a paramount function in the nursing education training (Bvumbwe &
Mtshali, 2018). According to Cooley and De Gagne (2016), there is a global scarcity of
qualified experienced nurses forcing healthcare administrators to employ recently
graduating nurses to fill the gap. Over the last decade, several concerns have arisen
concerning newly qualified nurses’ clinical competences and suitability for practice after
completing their training. Missen et al. (2016) argue that even at the end of their training,
nursing students lack clinical competences and are unable to attain the maximum degree
of clinical competence required of them and blame this on the theory practice gap.
Training initiatives should prioritize the acquisition of competences through mentorship.
In South Africa Mentoring in practical placements is not yet codified as there are no
regulatory norms to act as a guide for mentors (Mhlaba, 2011). In Kenya, the student
lecturer ratio is beyond the expected limit (MOH, 2012). When student mentorship is
lacking or inadequate, institutions risk generating half-baked graduates who may not be
able to perform nursing procedures adequately and attend to patients appropriately due to
a lack of essential competences required for all practicing nurses. This study sought to
assess mentorship factors influencing Clinical Competences of Nursing students at Coast
General Teaching and Referral Hospital, Mombasa. The study had four objectives and
adopted a descriptive cross-sectional survey. The study population was ninety-five (95)
basic diploma students in their 3rd year at KMTC Mombasa. The sample size formula of
Yamane, (1967) was employed to arrive at a sample size of 77 students. The researcher
collected data by use of online google form questionnaires. The statistical package for
social science (SPSS) version 25 was used to conduct the analysis for quantitative data.
Inferential data analysis was run using Pearson correlation coefficients. The statistical
significance was set at P= 95% (0.05). The students perceived themselves as competent
and had acquired average to moderate level competence in communication skills, decision
making, teamwork, performance of nursing skills / procedures, problem solving skills and
self-confidence [r=0.406, p<0.05]. The mentor’s modeling style helped students integrate
the knowledge learnt into practice and had a positive correlation coefficient of [r=0.703,
p<0.05]. Findings on mentor-mentee relationship showed that there were poor
interpersonal relationships among mentors and mentee [r= 0.956, (p<0.05]. This led to
inadequate mentoring and thus poor acquisition of clinical competences. Findings on
Institutional factors showed [r= 0.451, (p<0.05]. There was no intentional matching of
mentees to mentors and the high number of students per mentor hindered proper
development of expected skills, knowledge, and competences as it was difficult to assist
them all. The results of this study confirmed that the independent variables (mentor,
institutional, and mentor- mentee relationship factors) had a strong statistically significant
relationship (p<0.05) on the dependent variable clinical competences. This study therefore
recommends the hospital to improve the mentoring environment, by resolving the mentor-
mentee relationship challenges. Both institutions to come up with a policy and implement
a formal structured mentorship program so that there is a precedent standard that can be
followed to have a mentoring action plan where students are intentionally matched to
mentors depending on the placement. | en_US |
