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Nursing students taken to boot camp in innovative educational strategy

19 October 2021 | Story André Damons | Photo Charl Devenish

Dr Annali Fichardt and Dr Champion Nyoni — Dr Champion Nyoni and Dr Annali Fichardt, together with Prof Yvonne Botma (not on the picture), from the School of Nursing at the University of the Free State (UFS) came in second for their research paper on this innovative educational strategy at the recent Faculty of Health Sciences’ Faculty Research Forum.

When South Africa went into hard lockdown due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the School of Nursing at the University of the Free State (UFS) adopted the conventional boot camp as an innovative way to continue learning and teaching clinical skills for its students.

School of Nursing leadership adopting an innovative educational strategy

The COVID-19 pandemic, specifically the hard lockdown of 2020, challenged the leadership of the School of Nursing to adopt innovative educational strategies to continue learning and teaching, especially for undergraduate nursing students. Adapting theory classes to the online space appeared easier due to the various enabling modalities in the university such as Blackboard, but the same could not be said about learning clinical skills. It is near impossible to learn clinical skills at home. The School of Nursing had to devise ways to facilitate learning of clinical skills in campus during the pandemic. Underpinned by the theory of deliberate practice, they used the boot camp as an innovative educational strategy to continue the learning and teaching of clinical skills.

Dr Champion Nyoni, Dr Annali Fichardt and Prof Yvonne Botma, who did research on this innovative educational strategy, came in second place at the recent Faculty of Health Sciences’ Faculty Research Forum. They also won the Kerneels Nel medal for best educational research paper in 2020.

Manuscript already accepted

The manuscript about their research has already been accepted by The African Journal of Health Professions Education and will be published next year.

“Deliberate practice is understood as a type of purposeful and systematic learning of skills requiring focused attention and is conducted to improve performance. Boot camps are synonymous with conventional training camps, such as used in the military, where specific skills are learnt, and the School of Nursing adopted the practice for this particular situation,” wrote the researchers in the manuscript.

According to them, the boot camps had the dual aim of developing foundational clinical skills for undergraduate nursing students, including sessions missed during the higher levels of lockdown, and preparing them for the ‘new’ workplace environment.

Educational institutions were compelled to adapt their education strategies during the pandemic and the innovation of the use of boot camps as a strategy for learning and teaching clinical skills is an example of what the School of Nursing applied immediately after the hard lockdown.

How the boot camps worked

Each student year group was allocated a week at the simulation laboratory. Each year group was then split into smaller groups to attend their boot camp on specific days of the week. The module outcomes determined the nature and number of clinical skills to be taught per camp.

All the students received a video recording of the clinical skills and associated learning material prior to the boot camp to prepare for the session. On the day of the camp, the group was further split into smaller manageable groups, which were stationed in smaller venues of the simulation laboratory with a preceptor.

Equipment and materials related to the clinical skills for the day were made available in all the venues. A central venue hosted the leading session facilitator, who provided foundational information about the clinical skill before a demonstration while being live-streamed to the other smaller venues. Students in smaller venues watched the leading facilitator via live streaming after which they had opportunities for clarification from their preceptor. All the students in the small groups then demonstrated the taught skills to the preceptor who immediately provided feedback.

This intervention commenced after the hard lockdown and continued for the whole of the year 2020.

Outcomes of the strategy

The boot camps appeared to have influenced the learning and teaching of clinical skills positively, but the strategy is an emergency solution only in response to COVID-19 and is not regarded as suitable for long-term educational purposes. Students’ clinical outcomes appear to have improved compared to previous years and they appreciated the efforts taken by their educators in facilitating the learning of clinical skills and re-integrating them into the clinical environment.

“We always encourage our students to be innovative in their own practice, – the boot camps were an exceptional demonstration of practising what we preach,” says Dr Nyoni.

The infrastructure, the educators, and the leadership of the School of Nursing appeared to be enablers for the effective influence of this strategy. The boot camps were located at the state-of-the-art simulation facilities at the school that have multiple venues and facilities for live streaming. Teamwork among the educators in each year group drove the process through reflecting on their own practice.

News Archive

Top matriculants for Kovsies

2014-01-24

From left are: Saneliswe Khambule, Lungile Mkhungo, Jannie de Wet, Anje Venter, Siqiniseko Buthelezi and Abrille Beukes.
Photo: Hannes Pieterse

Hailing from top schools in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), Naushad Mayat, Lungile Mkhungo and Siqiniseko Buthelezi share 20 distinctions between them. Leaving the province of the Zulu Kingdom for Bloemfontein, all three are at Kovsies to study as doctors.

Naushad obtained eight distinctions, an achievement that placed him in the top ten matriculants in KwaZulu-Natal. The former learner from Glenwood High School in Durban came fourth in the Umlazi District and tenth overall in the province. Enrolling for a degree in Medicine, he will join the list of outstanding health professionals Kovsies produce every year.

Lungile, who matriculated from Kingsway High School, attained seven distinctions and her average percentage was 90%. She received distinctions in English – 90%, IsiZulu – 94%, Mathematics – 83%, History – 92%, Physics – 89%, Life Sciences – 89% and Life Orientation – 93%. Lungile is not only clever, but also performed well in sports at her school, participating in netball, soccer and athletics. This future doctor is a proud resident of Wag-'n-Bietjie residence.

Siqiniseko made history at his school, Maritzburg College, becoming the first black Head Prefect at the 150-year-old school, the oldest boys' high school in KZN and one of the oldest schools in South Africa. A gifted learner excelling in sport, culture and academics, Siqiniseko obtained five distinctions (English, Afrikaans, Life Orientation, Accounting and Life Sciences). His sporting prowess has seen him captaining Maritzburg College's first rugby team, as well as the KZN Academy team.

The three are joined by fellow KwaZulu-Natal resident, Saneliswe Khambule, Namibian Abrille Beukes and Free Staters Anje Venter and Jannie de Wet.

Saneliswe, a former learner of Menzi High School in Umlazi, received five distinctions in her final-year exams. The Emily Hobhouse resident registered for a Forensic Science degree and plans on doing her doctoral studies in this exciting career field.

Abrille Beukes is another future doctor and is all the way from Windhoek in Namibia. Abrille obtained a ‘one’ in all her subjects, the highest possible mark in the Namibian school system. The Windhoek-born student received high levels in Mathematics, Accounting, Physical Science, Biology, Afrikaans and English. As second best student in her home country, she will register for a Medicine degree.

Anja, the Free State’s top achiever, received an average percentage of 93% in the matric final exams. The former Eunice student obtained nine distinctions, an achievement that placed her in the national top 100 matriculants. Anja enrolled for a BSc Actuarial Science degree and will be joined in class by former school friend, Jannie de Wet, who obtained a whopping ten distinctions. Jannie and Anja attended Universitas Primary School together, with Jannie finishing his school career at Jim Fouché High School, and just like Anja, he will also enrol for a BSc Actuarial Science degree.

Jannie obtained distinctions in Afrikaans, English, Mathematics, Mathematics (third paper), Life Orientation, Accounting, Physical Science, Life Science, Economics and Information Technology. Jannie is also the Volksblad and the University of the Free State’s 2013 Matriculant of the Year.

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