TABLE 1.

Summary of research reports from the nursing education research conference.

Core concepts	Research report title	Key findings
Nursing context	Registered nurses’ experiences with clinical teaching environment in Malawi.	Clinical teaching and learning inadequately prepares students for practice owing to challenges of inadequate faculty support, poor clinical learning environment, poor competence among nurses and unsupportive working conditions.
	Can research improve nursing and midwifery education in Malawi – Key note.	Evidence-based practice requires that both the nurse educator and nurse practitioners engage in mutual research. Research builds on knowledge for production of nurses.
	Strategies for the implementation of clinical practice guidelines in the intensive care: a systematic review.	Practice guidelines strengthen provision of quality care to patients in intensive care unit.
Academic practice collaboration	Involvement of registered nurses in clinical teaching of nursing students in the central hospitals of Malawi.	Registered nurses possess adequate experience regarding practice. Their involvement increases the chances of narrowing a theory–practice gap that exists owing to lack of integration between what students learn in class and what is happening in practice settings.
	Assessing quality of clinical learning environment for nursing and midwifery students in northern Malawi.	The nature of the clinical learning environment has a direct impact on the achievements of the clinical learning outcomes. However, the clinical learning environment is characterised by lack of resources, poor faculty support and lack of collaboration between academia and practice in training students.
	Clinical teaching in clinical situations.	Students learn better in clinical situations that have adequate support from clinical personnel.
	Where is the grade coming from? Problems and challenges in evaluating the clinical performance of nursing students.	Evaluation of students’ clinical performance is a vital component of nursing education; it should be conducted in a manner that effectively determines students’ clinical proficiency. Consequently, students become preoccupied with building relationships with clinical nurses to obtain good grades.
Competent graduate	An investigation of stressors among Malawian nursing and midwifery students.	Clinical learning is stressful for students owing to the nature of the clinical learning environment, especially for newer students. As time passes by, students get adapted to challenges of the clinical environment.
	Patient-centred care in nursing and midwifery education.	Quality of nursing care improves when care is based on objective assessment of the patients’ needs. Nursing education emphasises evidence-based provision of nursing care.
Transformative strategies	Enhancing students’ moral competence in practice: Challenges experienced by Malawian nurse teachers.	A lesson that authoritarian learning climate may enhance critical reflection and discussion between students, teachers and nurses. Giving students more chances to reflect increases the chances of developing moral competence.
	Exploring knowledge and perceptions of tutors towards the use of problem-based learning approach (PBL) in Christian Health Association of Malawi Nursing Colleges.	Nurse educators need capacity building in teaching approaches in order to promote achievement of learning outcomes among students.
	Factors affecting clinical performance of nursing and midwifery technician students at three nursing colleges of southern Malawi.	Poor clinical learning environment that includes clinical nurses’ attitude towards students, availability of faculty support during clinical practice and lack of resources affect student performance
	Teaching and learning methodology in nurse/midwife education.	Use of various methods in teaching enhances acquisition of knowledge and skills among nurses. Clinical mentorship increases the chance for students to learn during practice.
	Knowledge and attitudes of nursing and midwifery learners and educators towards self-directed learning in Malawi.	Adequate orientation of students to teaching approaches increases students’ positive attitude towards the approaches.