Renbarger Kalyn M, Anyango Jane Frances, Muliira Joshua Kanaabi
School of Nursing, Purdue University, 610 Purdue Mall, West Lafayette, IN 47907, United States of America.
School of Nursing, Ball State University, United States of America.
Nurse Educ Today. 2025 Mar;146:106513. doi: 10.1016/j.nedt.2024.106513. Epub 2024 Nov 27.
Nursing schools in low-income countries face challenges to effectively educate and retain future nurses in rural settings where healthcare needs are more prominent. It is important to understand the experiences of nursing students in rural settings to better prepare them to meet the complex needs of the community. Little is known about nursing students' experiences in rural Uganda. The purpose of this paper is to explore nursing students' experiences of attending school in a rural setting in Uganda.
A qualitative descriptive design was used to conduct this study. Twelve nursing students from a nursing school in rural Uganda participated in semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed using an inductive content analysis.
Five themes were developed from the data to describe the participants' experiences attending nursing school in rural Uganda. The five themes consisted of: 1) External Factors Affect Nursing Students' Experiences, 2) Physical Environment Features Influence Nursing Students' Experiences, 3) Teaching and Mentoring Capabilities Shape Nursing Students' Experiences, 4) Technologies Impact Nursing Students' Experiences, and 5) Clinical Environment Considerations Structure Nursing Students' Experiences.
DISCUSSION/IMPLICATIONS: Nursing students identified strengths and weaknesses of the learning environment which shaped their experiences of attending nursing school in rural Uganda. The findings of this study also highlight the need for more teaching resources, simulation technology, and on-site facilities to enhance the learning environment. Implications for improving nursing education in rural settings in Uganda and other low-income countries include recruiting and retaining more qualified faculty, offering professional development opportunities to faculty, and developing infrastructure to support quality education and training.
低收入国家的护理院校在有效教育并留住未来将服务于农村地区的护士方面面临挑战，而农村地区的医疗保健需求更为突出。了解农村地区护理专业学生的经历对于让他们更好地准备满足社区的复杂需求非常重要。关于乌干达农村地区护理专业学生的经历知之甚少。本文旨在探讨乌干达农村地区护理专业学生的求学经历。
本研究采用定性描述性设计。来自乌干达农村一所护理院校的12名护理专业学生参与了半结构化访谈。数据采用归纳性内容分析法进行分析。
从数据中提炼出五个主题来描述参与者在乌干达农村护理院校的求学经历。这五个主题包括：1）外部因素影响护理专业学生的经历；2）物理环境特征影响护理专业学生的经历；3）教学与指导能力塑造护理专业学生的经历；4）技术影响护理专业学生的经历；5）临床环境考量构建护理专业学生的经历。
讨论/启示：护理专业学生指出了学习环境的优势与不足，这些优势与不足塑造了他们在乌干达农村护理院校的求学经历。本研究结果还凸显了需要更多教学资源、模拟技术和现场设施来改善学习环境。对改善乌干达及其他低收入国家农村地区护理教育的启示包括招聘并留住更多合格教师、为教师提供专业发展机会以及发展基础设施以支持优质教育与培训。
