Students’ Perceptions of the Operating Room as a Clinical Learning Environment

Students undertake their clinical placement in various clinical settings to ensure their exposure to and acquisition of skills related to that particular context. The operating room is a context that offers the opportunity to develop critical skills related to the perioperative care of the patient. Despite the numerous studies that have been undertaken in this field, few have investigated the operating room as a clinical learning environment in the South African private healthcare context. The aim of this study was to determine students’ perceptions of the operating room as a clinical learning environment in this context. An exploratory, interpretive and descriptive design generating qualitative data was utilized. Data was collected from nursing students undertaking their training at a private nursing education institution. Ten nursing students completed an open-ended questionnaire (N=10), and twelve students participated in the focus group discussion (N=12). Four themes emerged, namely, ‘interpersonal factors’, ‘educational factors’, ‘private operating room context’, and ‘recommendations’. This study has highlighted some of the challenges experienced by students in the private sector operating room context. Despite the potential learning opportunities, the key findings reveal negative perceptions of students regarding learning experiences. However, the opinion that the operating room offers an opportunity to gain skills unique to this context, as well as facilitates the integration of theory and practice, was also expressed. Some students reported that the emphasis on profitability and cost to patient, and the lack of a mentoring process in the private operating room context posed a constraint to learning. Exploration into the specific preparatory needs of students specific to learning outcomes before operating room placement should be considered. It would also be necessary to improve collaboration between lecturers, mentors and theatre managers so that a structured teaching programme may be developed for students entering the perioperative environment. ___________________________________________________________________