Factors Influencing Nursing Education and Teaching Methods in Nursing Institutions: A Case Study of South West Nigeria

BACKGROUND: Teaching and learning are like two composites sides of a coin. While the indispensability of teaching to knowledge and skill acquisition among professionals including nurses is never in doubt, certain teaching methods have been proven to yield more fruitful results than others. This study therefore explored the lived experience of nurse educators regarding teaching methods and the challenges encountered in nursing education institutions in South West Nigeria.

METHODOLOGY: A qualitative inquiry research approach was used. Fifteen nursing educators were purposively selected from three nursing institutions in South West Nigeria with at least one year of teaching experience. Data was collected through semi-structured, in-depth individual interviews with the selected participants. All interview sessions were audio recorded with participants' permission and later transcribed verbatim. Thereafter, the collected data was analyzed using thematic content analysis.

RESULTS: The study identified a number of factors that hindering teaching methods that support students learning by nurse educators. Results showed six themes viz: Inadequate preparedness of the students for higher education; Insufficient facilitation skills of the teachers; Misconceptions about teaching practices; Resource constraints; Resistance to change; and Lack of incentives. Further analysis revealed that the dynamic changes occurring in the health care professions, require a radical shift in the way nursing students are taught, to develop them into competent nurses of the future, who are capable of using their skills to solve the health care needs of the populace.

CONCLUSIONS: The effective use of teaching methods is the cornerstone of the future of general nursing and nursing practice. Nurses need to be trained with an objective to become skilled and competent through effective teaching and learning by taking into account the diversity of higher education institutions and responding effectively to the needs of nursing educators and nursing students, as well as institutional demands.