Objectives: To present a review of the factors that facilitate professional socialisation among undergraduate nursing learners. Method: A systematic review was conducted on literature from 2008 to 2018. The literature search focused on factors that facilitate professional socialisation of learner nurses. A search of databases was conducted in CINAHL, MEDLINE, Google Scholar and Science Direct. The search focused on literature on professional socialisation of learner nurses published from 2008 to 2018. The search resulted in 3035 articles which were further reduced to 13 after further synthesis. Critical appraisal skills programme was used to assess the quality of the studies. Results: Three main themes emerged. Learner factors, factors in the clinical learning areas and interpersonal factors were identified as the factors that facilitate professional socialisation of learners. Conclusion:Learners should have self-motivation and be supported and assisted to develop a positive professional identity. The clinical learning environment should have effective communication that fosters learning. Professional nurses should act as exemplary role models so that learners can emulate the conduct and practice. The review brought to light that the professional socialisation of learners is affected by the learner factors, clinical learning areas and personal factors.

Background: Effective communication between health care professionals, admitted patients, and their families is crucial to improving the health care outcomes and patient satisfaction. Hence, barriers to effective communication cause a lot of confusion, frustration, and misunderstanding. The study aimed to identify the perceived barriers to effective communication between patients, their families, and health care professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic in public hospitals in Limpopo Province. The study was conducted in rural areas of Vhembe District, Limpopo Province. Methodology: A qualitative exploratory descriptive method was adopted to explore and describe the barriers of effective communication among patients, relatives, and health care professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic in public hospitals in the Vhembe District. Eleven (11) participants were purposively selected. Unstructured in-depth individual interviews were used to collect data and analyzed using thematic analysis following Tesch’s eight steps. Results: The study findings revealed that there was ineffective communication by health care professionals. This was discussed under three themes that emerged: poor communication of diagnosis and prognosis and treatment outcomes; lack of accurate knowledge regarding the virus morphology, variant, and treatment protocols; and the inconsistencies in the dissemination of COVID-19 protocols. Conclusions: Full communication benefits both patients, relatives, and health care professionals as knowledge and understanding are enhanced through communication. Therefore, health care professionals should provide the patients and their relatives with full information about the disease and the visitation protocols to be followed. The study contribution was to explore barriers to effective communication to the patients and relatives by the health care professionals.

Background: Nurse training in South Africa requires placing learner nurses in real-life setting for them to gain practical experience. To complete their training and be competent practitioners, learner nurses must have expectations and aspirations when they go for practice.Aim: This study sought to understand learner nurses’ expectations at clinical learning areas during placement.Setting: Four clinical learning areas in the Limpopo province were purposely sampled. Tertiary, regional and district hospitals were sampled to obtain information from different levels of care.Methods: A qualitative, descriptive and contextual design was used to explore the expectations of learner nurses during clinical placements. Permission to conduct the study was obtained from various bodies and ethical considerations were ensured. Nonprobability purposive sampling was used, and six focus groups were formed. Each focus group discussion (FGD) had six to eight participants. The FGDs were according to level of study, with the third and fourth levels each having two FGDs because of the number of participants.Results: The following three themes emerged: milieu in the clinical learning areas, learning in the clinical areas and self-actualisation.Conclusion: The clinical learning areas are institutions of promoting learning through practice. They should promote learning and offer support to learners so that learners meet their expectations, which may prevent discouragement and attrition.Contribution: This study adds to the body of knowledge in nursing education and practice because when students’ expectations are met, their training outcome might be positive leading to competent professional nurses.

Background: Professional nurses play a significant role in the professional socialisation of learners as learners look up to them as seniors. Learners come into the profession with the values and norms from the different societies where they grew up. These learners do not possess the ethics and skills in the nursing profession and rely on professional nurses to pass these qualities. The objective of the study was to explore the perception of professional nurses regarding their role as role models in the profession. Methods: A qualitative, explorative design was used to collect data from professional nurses. No probability purposive sampling was used to select professional nurses working at sampled hospitals where learners are placed for clinical practice. The selection criteria were an experience of three years and above in professional socialisation of learners. Data was collected through a semi structured interview. An interview guide was used to ask the appropriate questions related to the role modelling of professional nurses in the profession. Data was collected until saturation was reached. Tesch’s open coding system was used to analyse data Results: The findings revealed that professional nurses acknowledged their responsibilities role modelling of the profession in professional socialisation of learners. Three main themes that emerged from the study were professional nurses as mentors, professional nurses as teachers and professional nurses as competent practitioners. Professional nurses were aware of their role in transferring the ethical skills and knowledge to learners during clinical placement. However professional nurses also acknowledged that there were incidences where professional nurses behave in a manner that does not promote exemplary role modelling. Conclusion: The professional nurses should uphold the moral ethics of the profession always to teach learners the correct and acceptable behaviour and conduct in the profession. Children learn from adults therefore the learners copy the conducts of the adults in the profession. Through teaching in the clinical areas, professional nurses transfer the skills that they have. Mostly teaching in the clinical areas is informal and observed. Therefore, professional nurses should use teachable moments to transfer skills. Lastly the professional nurse is expected to be a competent practitioner. Learners learn these skills when professional nurses are executing them. The competent practitioner is also confident in practice.