Support needs for registered nurses to bachelor of science in nursing students in Kenyan universities

Higher percentages of the registered nurses (RN) workforce with a bachelor's degree have been associated with better patient outcomes. RN with a diploma in nursing who are upgrading their qualifications to a bachelor's degree in nursing enter universities in Kenya as mature and part-time students. Studies have shown that mature and part-time students in universities have a higher attrition than their full-time peers. They are less likely to access extra support and personal development opportunities available at university, have a history of campus isolation, and fewer opportunities to engage with campus peers. The purpose of the study was to explore and describe the support needs of registered nurses (RN) to Bachelor of Science in nursing (BScN) students in Kenyan universities, and to develop guidelines for their enhanced support. This paper focuses on the support needs of RN to BScN students in Kenyan universities and is the first part of a PhD study. A qualitative phenomenological design was used to explore support needs for RN to BScN students in Kenya. In phase I, individual interviews and focus group discussions were conducted with nurse educators and RN to BScN students purposively sampled from four Kenyan universities. Phase II involved development and validation of guidelines for enhanced support for RN to BScN students in Kenyan universities. Ethical approval was provided by the four universities, and all participants signed an informed consent form. Data was analysed using Tesch's data analysis protocol. Four themes and eleven sub-themes emerged as support needs for RN to BScN students in Kenyan universities. Resource needs - human resource needs, financial support needs, infrastructural support needs; learning needs - theoretical learning needs, clinical learning needs, technology learning needs; psychological needs - social support, psychological support, employer support; and policy needs - training institutional regulations and student regulations. The study findings provide an important evidence base for the need to have enhanced support to RN to BScN students in Kenyan universities. The findings can also be applied to other mature learners in Kenyan universities to support their learning experience in higher education.