ABSTRACT
No member of [health] staff should undertake tasks unless they are competent to do so' is stated in the Comprehensive Primary Health Care Service Package for South Africa (Department of Health 2001) document. In South Africa; primary clinical nurses (PCNs); traditionally known as primary health care nurses (PHCNs); function as 'frontline providers' of clinical primary health care (PHC) services within public PHC facilities; which is their extended role. This extended role of registered nurses (set out in section 38A of the Nursing Act 50 of 1978; as amended) demands high clinical competency training by nursing schools and universities. The objectives of the study were to explore and describe the perceptions of both clinical instructors and students; in terms of the reasons for poor clinical competencies. Results established that two main challenges contributed to students' poor clinical competencies: challenges within the PHC clinical field and challenges within the learning programme (University)