Self-Assessment Programme For Operating Room Professional Nursing Practice In Namibia

ABSTRACT

Operating room professional nursing practice is an evolving, ever-changing, clinical, hands-on nursing activity. For professional nurses to stay abreast of these changes they need to assess their clinical performance to improve quality of practice. An adult leaner usually brings her/his life experience to the learning situation. Therefore one can assume that they are problem orientated and are capable of self-directed learning. In this respect adults need to be involved in evaluating their own progress towards self-chosen goals The problem this study addressed is the fact that there is no evidence at present, of a structured system with an assessment process to monitor the initial and continuing competence of professional nurses in the operating rooms in Namibia. It is also evident, by a previous study, that assessment and/or evaluation by others and/or self-assessment is not done on a regular basis. To address the problem it was necessary to determine the perceptions of professional nurses working in the operating room regarding selfassessment, develop a self-assessment programme, implement the self-assessment programme and evaluate the feasibility of implementing the self-assessment programme.