Pathology of apprenticeships for masters of nursing critical care

INTRODUCTION: The increasing complexity of patient care conditions in intensive care units, along with the development of these units, has increased the need for qualified nurses and health professionals. Therefore, due to recent changes and in response to the shortage of capable nurses, a master’s major in intensive care nursing has been created. One of the main challenges of this curriculum is to ensure that graduates have the required competencies. The current study aimed to explain the pathology of apprenticeships for a masters in nursing critical care. METHODS: This qualitative study was conducted for masters in nursing critical care students of Tehran University of Medical Sciences in 2014–2015. The sampling was purposeful. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews with 15 students. Conventional content analysis was used to analyze the data. RESULTS: Three categories “ineffective management, unfavorable context for achieving skills, and lack of clinical instructors and sufficient competence” were extracted. CONCLUSION: Preparing settings for entering students such as having an adequate training field and expert educators, providing conditions for orientation of educators and participation in the related workshops, and recruitment of experienced instructors in the apprenticeships field can increase the quality of MS levels.