UG-Department of Nursing
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Item Nursing Role in the Control of Antimicrobial Resistance at Nyeri County Referral Hospital(Kenyatta University, 2023-02) Omondi, Martin Gabriel; Aseka, Gabriel; Grace GachuiriIntroduction: Antimicrobial resistance has become a great threat to global health. Nurses are frontline clinical workers involved in vital clinical procedures and decisions. They are in direct contact with patients more than any other clinician, and perform procedures that determine the occurrence of resistance such as, drug administration and infection prevention. The nursing role in antimicrobial stewardship will be a good indicator of the nurses’ knowledge regarding AMR and AMS, and also help us understand the issues informing their decisions and practices such as their attitude, hospital policies, and even workload. Methodology: The study used a descriptive cross-sectional study design. A stratified sampling method was applied, and a sample of 60 nurses from different strata was used. Data collection tools were self-administered questionnaires. Results: There is good practice of antimicrobial stewardship. This is evidenced by nurses practicing infection prevention, nurses ensuring timely administration of antimicrobials and adhering to directly observed therapy when administering antimicrobials. A gap in practice was noted because in some units there were no antimicrobial registers, hence nurses didn’t record AMR cases. Despite the study findings demonstrating good knowledge of nurses regarding AMR and its prevention, the researchers noted gaps in knowledge regarding specific aspects of AMR, such as its cause. The nurses’ attitude, the participants showed a positive attitude towards AMR and its prevention. Nurses adhere to hospital guidelines aimed at AMS. Conclusion: Nurses are well informed of the threat antimicrobial resistance is bringing to the health care system. They are also actively involved in antimicrobial stewardship practices due to their positive attitude towards their role in controlling antimicrobial resistance. The resources needed to ensure proper control are insufficient. Recommendations: Nurses’ knowledge regarding antimicrobials and causes of resistance should be enhanced to promote their involvement and participation in AMS programs. Hospitals should devise clearly guidelines regarding nurses’ role in antimicrobial decision-making and regarding clinicians responsible for collection of specimens to curb the resistance and its spread. Health sector stakeholders should consider consistent availability of vital amenities like hand gloves, segregation bins and hand washing points to support efforts towards AMR prevention.Item Experiences of Student Nurses During Clinical Rotations at Thika Level 5 Hospital, Kiambu County, Kenya(Kenyatta University, 2023-03) Otieno, Lameck; Omwenga, Julius; Grace GachuiriNursing education program is structured in such a way that classroom learning is integrated by clinical teaching of which both occur simultaneously. Clinical practicum allows the student nurses to apply the knowledge, skills and attitude learned in class to real life situations. Many student nurses report heavy workload, fierce hospital scenes, invasive procedures and staff shortage that risks development of anxiety and poor performance in the clinical area. The main study objective was to describe the experiences of student nurses during their clinical rotations at TL5H. A qualitative descriptive cross-sectional design was used to collect primary data from a sample size of 15 over the month of February. Purposive sampling method was employed and data analyzed using descriptive thematic analysis technique. The study findings revealed that most student nurses at different levels had different experiences relative to another yet all agreed they receive clinical support from the staff, with clinical supervision and guidance, mentorship like CMEs, facilitation and variety of patient conditions being reported as positive experiences. Negative experiences reported included heavy work load, staff shortage, insufficient resources, and poor duty allocation. The researchers recommended deployment of a full time clinical instructor within all the units that the student rotates, the hospital to ensure availability of enough supplies like PPEs, and the staff members to allocate duties that are aligned to the students’ objectives.