The purpose is to explore the experiences of novice nurse educators as they transition from the previous role as clinical nurses.
Methods:
Study Design
It will be a qualitative study as it seeks to explore the experiences of the participants under study. Qualitative approach to research takes its roots from the constructivism paradigm which believes that there are multiple realities that are usually constructed by the individual and it will be an explorative descriptive case study
Research Setting
The study setting will be three nursing training colleges in the Central Region of Ghana. The schools were the Twifo Praso, Community Health Training School of Winneba and the Ankaful Nursing Training College. They were selected as they produce the three main cadre of nurses by the country; general nurses and midwives, community health nurses and mental health nurses respectively. They are also relatively new schools, therefore the likelihood of getting novice educators is high.
Study Population
Population of a study denotes a complete set of persons who possess common characteristic of interest to the researcher (Polit & Beck, 2012). The target population of the study will be nurse educators who are currently teaching in nursing training colleges in Ghana.
Sampling procedure
Purposive and snowball will be used in the selection of the participants of the study with a total of 15 participants selected although data collection will be further collected until data saturation is realised. The inclusion criteria will be nurse educators within the first three years of practice and are teaching in the Nursing Training College whereas the exclusion criteria will be nurse educators who have spent more than three years teaching at the Nursing Training College.
Data collection instruments
Data will be collected using individual in-depth semi structured interview with the participants who will be involved in the study (at their consent). The study would be conducted in the offices of the participants in the schools they teach using an interview guide.
Data management
The data of the participants on their experiences will be audio recorded at the consent of the participants. The data will be stored on a computer using the Microsoft Outlook and will be password protected as well; with the password known only to the researcher. The transcribed or textual data will be initially stored under lock and key which is accessible to the researcher. This will later be stored in a password protected software such as Nvivo. These will be done to maintain the confidentiality of the respondents.
Data analysis
Data from the interviews will be analysed using thematic analysis to bring out the real meaning and essence of the collected data. The data will then be interpreted as deeply as possible; the result of the process will be themes which will be in line with the purpose of the study.
Trustworthiness
Trustworthiness will be in ensured in tandem with that of Lincoln and Guba’s (1985) four criteria for ensuring quality or rigour in qualitative studies; credibility, confirmability, transferability and dependability. Credibility will be ensured by the researcher immersing himself in the world of the participants. Transferability will be carried out by writing a thick, detailed and extensive report on the entire research process (Nieswiadomy, 2012). The data that would be collected from the interview will be audio recorded and stored well on a password protected software (computer) whereas its transcription will be stored under lock and key for future comparison is the need be. Confirmability will be ensured by maintaining objectivity during in the collection and analysis of through triangulation and keeping of reflexive journal (Bowen, 2009). Dependability will be ensured by keeping an audit trail and re-coding by another person
Ethical consideration
Ethical consideration will be sought from the institutional Review Board of the University of Cape Coast. The considerations outlined by the World Medical Association (2013) in Helsinki on the use of human subjects in research will be adhered to.
Results:
The study anticipates to generate data on the experiences of the Ghanaian novice nurse educators their challenges during the transition process and the support they had during the process
Conclusion:
The study will reveal the experiences of the novice nurse educators their challenges during the transition process and the support they had during the process. It is anticipated that these findings will be useful the training, recruitment and the planning of orientation for novice nurse educators in Ghana