Embedding person-centered teaching in nursing education: academic staff and clinical facilitator's experiences in a South African undergraduate program
1
Nursing and Midwifery, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa
Popul. Med. 2026;8(Supplement Supplement 1):A1136
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION:
Person-centeredness (PC) is a concept concerned with putting recipients of care in the center, thus, emphasizing empathy, shared decision making and respect for individuals (1). In nursing education, embedding PC within theoretical and clinical teaching is critical for preparing graduates who contribute to high quality, safe and equitable health systems (2). Despite the recognized importance of PC, limited evidence exists on how nurse educators enact PC teaching within undergraduate nursing curricula in the Western Cape, South Africa.
METHODS:
an exploratory qualitative study was conducted at a university in the Western Cape, South Africa, which implemented the country's first person-centered Bachelor of Nursing curriculum. 13 semi-structured interviews were conducted with purposively sampled academic staff and clinical facilitators with more than 12 months of teaching experience within the programme. Thematic analysis was used to analyze data and explore the experiences of academic staff and clinical facilitators with integrating PC teaching.
RESULTS:
Participants described substantial organizational and structural barriers that hindered the consistent implementation of PC teaching . These included high workloads, lecture schedules, fast paced learning environments, limited collegial collaboration and the absence of formalized mechanisms to monitor and evaluate PC teaching practices. Despite these limitations, participants shared a common understanding of PC principles. Additionally, the intentional use of learner-centered pedagogical strategies such as reflection, role modeling and continuous reinforcement of PC principles across teaching contexts. Although the absence of formal evaluations was noted, however, participants reported consistent anecdotal evidence from various clinical placements indicating that students demonstrated respectful and empathetic behavior in patient interactions, suggesting a translation of PC principles into practice.
CONCLUSIONS:
Person-centered curricula plays a pivotal role in strengthening the public health nursing workforce by fostering compassionate, reflective and ethically grounding practitioners. To sustain PC teaching, institutional support, academic staff collaboration and robust evaluation systems must be implemented.
Person-centeredness (PC) is a concept concerned with putting recipients of care in the center, thus, emphasizing empathy, shared decision making and respect for individuals (1). In nursing education, embedding PC within theoretical and clinical teaching is critical for preparing graduates who contribute to high quality, safe and equitable health systems (2). Despite the recognized importance of PC, limited evidence exists on how nurse educators enact PC teaching within undergraduate nursing curricula in the Western Cape, South Africa.
METHODS:
an exploratory qualitative study was conducted at a university in the Western Cape, South Africa, which implemented the country's first person-centered Bachelor of Nursing curriculum. 13 semi-structured interviews were conducted with purposively sampled academic staff and clinical facilitators with more than 12 months of teaching experience within the programme. Thematic analysis was used to analyze data and explore the experiences of academic staff and clinical facilitators with integrating PC teaching.
RESULTS:
Participants described substantial organizational and structural barriers that hindered the consistent implementation of PC teaching . These included high workloads, lecture schedules, fast paced learning environments, limited collegial collaboration and the absence of formalized mechanisms to monitor and evaluate PC teaching practices. Despite these limitations, participants shared a common understanding of PC principles. Additionally, the intentional use of learner-centered pedagogical strategies such as reflection, role modeling and continuous reinforcement of PC principles across teaching contexts. Although the absence of formal evaluations was noted, however, participants reported consistent anecdotal evidence from various clinical placements indicating that students demonstrated respectful and empathetic behavior in patient interactions, suggesting a translation of PC principles into practice.
CONCLUSIONS:
Person-centered curricula plays a pivotal role in strengthening the public health nursing workforce by fostering compassionate, reflective and ethically grounding practitioners. To sustain PC teaching, institutional support, academic staff collaboration and robust evaluation systems must be implemented.
| eISSN: | 2654-1459 |
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