ABSTRACT
Background: South Africa was caught off guard by the student unrest in 2015 and 2016. This unrest was named the #fees must fall campaign. During this campaign, students raised the issue of decolonisation of the curriculum, challenging the higher education fraternity and the academic community. This was based on the fact that the existing curriculum has inadequate content on African traditional indigenous knowledge (ATIK), and continues to use the Western approach to address the needs of a multicultural, multiracial and multi-ethnic societies. Institutions responded by initiating dialogues regarding decolonisation of the curriculum in senates, scholars and between different health professional bodies. Aim: This article aimed to explore and describe the perspectives of nursing students regarding incorporating ATIK into the curriculum. Methods: Using a participatory transformative approach, researchers and participants worked collaboratively to inform social change. Participants comprised nursing students. The academics, traditional health practitioners, indigenous knowledge holders and primary health care nurses formed the panellists. Data were collected through one communal dialogue workshop, which lasted for 8 hours, tea and lunch included. Data were analysed thematically. Results: Students' perspectives emerged strongly as four themes, namely, politics of identity, displacement and distortion, curriculum content and institutional resistance. Students expressed that the current education system results in an identity crisis. The existing curriculum does not adequately convey an understanding of ATIK; it is displaced and distorted. Conclusion: Nursing science has great potential to incorporate the wealth of ATIK into its curriculum. In spite of a vibrant and rich cultural heritage, the ATIK specific to nursing sciences still needs to be incorporated into the existing curriculum in a responsive and relevant manner
Subject(s)
Curriculum , Medicine, African Traditional , South Africa , Students, NursingABSTRACT
Background: Workplace conflict is common among nurses globally. Learning how to manage it may reduce related adverse consequences.Inappropriate management of conflict is attributed to decreased productivity, poor morale and financial loss for organisations. Nurse unit managers can play a key role by effectively managing workplace conflict in the units.Aims and objectives:To explore how nurse unit managers managed conflict in public hospitals. Subsequently to make recommendations on how to optimise conflict management skills of nurse unit managers.Methods: A qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual study was conducted to explore how nurse unit managers managed conflict based on a scenario provided to them. Purposive sampling was used to select nurse unit managers working in three public hospitals. Eleven nurse unit managers participated in the study. Data was collected in two phases. In phase one; a conflict scenario was developed in consultation with experienced nurse managers. The conflict scenario was used during phase two, which involved individual face-to-face semi-structured interviews with nurse unit managers until data saturation.Tesch's method of thematic synthesis was utilised to analyse data. Literature review was undertaken to ascertain what is considered as an appropriate intervention in conflict management.Findings: Three themes emanated: nurse unit managers managed conflict appropriately, nurse unit managers avoided the conflict and nurse unit managers managed conflict inappropriately.Conclusion: While some of the nurse unit managers managed conflict appropriately, additional and continuous education and training is required to optimise the capacity and develop their conflict management competency. The findings could be integrated into orientation, training and preparation of nurse managers by healthcare organisations and educational institutions