Abstract:
Although nursing education has evolved over the years to better prepare
nurses for quality nursing care, the standards of nursing care is still dwindling
in Ghana. Studies have shown that improving the quality of nursing care will
require the application of the nursing process in patient care. The Nursing
Process is a systematic scientific approach to direct nurses in caring for
patients effectively. This study sought to explore the application of the nursing
process and the quality of care that patients receive at the Wa Regional
Hospital. The research approach was a qualitative ethnographic study that employed
the ethnonursing method to describe the aspect of nursing culture involving patient
care. The study population was made up of registered nurses in Wa Municipality. A
purposive sampling technique was used to identify thirteen (13) key informants who
were interviewed; twelve (12) participants were also purposively sampled to
participate in a focus group interview. Records were reviewed to gather data that was
analyzed as outline in the ethnonursing approach of data analysis. The research
findings indicated that the registered general nurses had very good theoretical
understanding of the nursing process. However, nursing process was not being
implemented at the hospital. The main reasons why nursing process was not
implemented in the hospital included: Work pressure on nurse, inadequate
Staff (RGNs) in the ward, lack of logistics and consumables. The nurses
recommended training workshops, employing more RGN and supply of
consumables to promote implementation of the nursing process.
