Maldives National Journal of Research
The Maldives National Journal of Research (MNJR) is a research journal of the Maldives National University published by the Postgraduate Research Centre. MNJR is a multidisciplinary journal of research in all disciplines relevant to the Maldives. Although in the coming years, it is expected that this journal will evolve into specialist journals in various disciplines, the first one is generalist in nature. The journal publishes research articles, literature reviews, book reviews, comments, opinion and perspectives.
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Item Challenges in clinical learning : experiences of Maldivian nursing students(The Research Centre, Maldives National University, 2017-06) Hassan, Salma; Ibrahim, Asiya; Hussain, Fathimath MunaClinical practice is an essential part of nursing education. It provides opportunity to apply theoretical knowledge, and develop skills. Nursing faculty need to identify ways to improve clinical learning for students. The aim of this paper was to obtain an understanding of experiences of clinical learning environment for Maldivian nursing students. A qualitative descriptive design was used and informed consent was obtained from all students. Data was collected from 20 students of Maldives National University, using four focus group discussions. Focus group interviews that lasted approximately one hour were conducted. The interviews were audio taped and transcribed verbatim. The transcripts were red multiple times to gain an understanding of students experiences. Discussions that related to students clinical experiences were extracted and coded under different themes. Mentors, clinical learning opportunities, clinical evaluation, and student feelings were found to be important components of clinical learning. Interpersonal relationships and communication with mentors were found to be important for motivation of students. Factors in the CLE enabled students to make good use of learning opportunities while other factors hindered their learning. Students felt that clinical evaluation was unfair and not reflective of their achievements. Students experienced a number of positive and negative feelings due to their experiences in the CLE. A number of factors present in the CLE could prevent it from becoming an effective learning environment for student nurses. It is important that nurse educators identify these and find ways to improve the effectiveness of the CLE.Item Maldivian healthcare workers’ experience during COVID‑19 pandemic(The Research Centre, Maldives National University, 2020-08) Hassan, SalmaCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‑19) is caused by a new coronavirus reported from Wuhan City, China. On 31st December 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) China office was informed of cases of pneumonia of an unknown etiology which was detected in Wuhan city in Hubei Province, central China. By early January 2020, WHO released a statement regarding a novel coronavirus identified in patients admitted with pneumonia. This highly infectious disease spread at an alarming rate in many countries and became a global pandemic. It was declared as a pandemic by the WHO on 12th March 2020. The global pandemic of coronavirus disease (COVID‑19) has affected different people in many ways. According to Health Protection Agency (HPA) of the Maldives, the government has been preparing for this pandemic from the 5th of January 2020 when WHO initially announced the outbreak of this deadly disease. Since then the government has taken a range of preventive measures and continues to do it. HPA has been advising people regarding the importance of infection preventive measures at an individual and a community level.Item Psychological experiences of nurses during COVID-19 pandemic in the Maldives(Maldives National University, 2022-07) Hassan, SalmaThe Maldivian nurses had to face and deal with unique challenges during the coronavirus outbreak. As a result, they often faced extreme psychological pressure as a result of working constantly with a high risk of infection from patients and working in temporary setups with limited resources and manpower who were not well equipped to deal with a pandemic for the first time. This study aimed to explore the psychological experiences of nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Maldives. A descriptive qualitative research design was used for this study. Five female nurses working in the COVID-19 related in-patient facilities participated in semi-structured, virtual (telephone or online) interviews. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Three themes emerged from the data analysis: Overwhelming experience, nurses being treated differently, and valuing family support. The participants described the experience of being emotionally overwhelmed. Many experienced feelings of uncertainty and grief, mainly when they had to handle the death of COVID-19 patients under their care. Most significantly when they had to handle the dead bodies in a body bag as it was very painful for the families not being able to perform their last respect and rituals as per cultural practices. The second main theme was nurses’ grievance owing to the differential treatment they were subjected to by the public. When nurses had to go back to their resident islands, the island community was scared of contracting the disease from the nurses and as a result the public rejected interacting with the nurses. This further isolated the nurses subjecting them to loneliness. Finally, family is the most important and valuable support to overcome their psychological burden. Family members including husbands and mothers were very supportive of taking care of the nurses’ children while they worked long hours. The Maldivian nurses in COVID-19 facilities faced psychological adversities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings from this study can help in identifying issues and experiences of nurses, in order to implement appropriate interventions to monitor and support nurses during contagious disease outbreaks.