Experiences of Community Service Nurses During their Transition from Student to Professional Nurse in Kwazulu-Natal

Abstract

Mthokozisi Zulu, LA Snell-Hillermann and TSP Ngxongo

Background: Entering the profession as a Community service nurse is compounded by the fact that the practitioner is neither a student nor a professional because whereas the practitioner has completed training and graduated, he/she is not yet licensed to practice and the newly appointed Community service nurse still requires supervision, mentoring and support in assuming the new role. Hence the government of South Africa introduced community service placement for selected health professions in South Africa as a strategy by the National Department of Health to improve on the number of health workers more especially in previously under-served areas so as to ensure better access to quality healthcare.

Methods: The study employed a qualitative research design in its entirety, supported by contextual, explorative and descriptive approaches, these approaches to this chosen method were supported by the Schlossberg Transition theory which was utilized to undergird the whole study as its frame of reference. All data were collected through one-on-one semi-structured interviews with seven Community service nurses, five Professional nurses and five Operational Nurse Managers in 10 KwaZulu-Natal Hospitals between December 2024 and January 2025 following Ethics clearance (IREC NO 216/24) by the institutional Research committee for the relevant academic institution.

Results: Five themes emerged after data collection was completed, the themes were interpersonal relationship between community service nurse practitioners and their counterparts; clear community service practitioners’ guidance and support; consistent clinical exposure during community service placement; resources availability in clinical settings during community service placement and availability of adequate incentives. all of which contributed to the experiences of Community service nurses during their transition from student to Professional Nurse.

Conclusions: The findings from the study revealed that the community service nurses experienced both challenges and good experiences which emanated from their period of transition from student to professional nurses.

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