Evaluating the clinical performance of nursing students effectively and fairly is a challenge which\ncontinues to confront nurse education and there is evidence of both faculty and student concerns.\nThis paper reports part findings of a hermeneutic phenomenological study which explored the\nclinical learning experience of Malawian undergraduate student nurses. The study took place at a\nUniversity Nursing College in Malawi, using a purposive sample of thirty student nurse participants.\nConversational interviews were conducted to obtain participantsââ?¬â?¢ accounts of their clinical\nlearning experience and a framework developed by modifying Colaizziââ?¬â?¢s procedural steps guided\nthe phenomenological analysis. Several issues emerged from this study, but for this paper the assessment\nissues which the study revealed were discussed. It revealed concerns of unfairness and\nlack of objectivity during the evaluation of the clinical performance of nursing students. It also revealed\nthat interpersonal relationships significantly influenced the evaluation process. Consequently,\nnursing students become preoccupied with building relationships with qualified nurses\nknowing the impact of such relationships on the clinical grade. The findings reveal that students\nemploy various strategies in order to obtain good grades and this illustrates studentsââ?¬â?¢ overall\npreoccupation with ââ?¬Å?making the gradeââ?¬Â. It is argued that the evaluation of the clinical performance\nof nursing students is a vital component of nursing education and it must be conducted in a manner\nthat enables nurse educators to effectively determine the clinical proficiency of nursing students.
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