Mobile Instant Messaging (MIM) to support teaching practice: Insights from a nurse tutor program in Nigeria
Open accessAbstract
Aim: To determine the feasibility of using the Mobile Instant Messaging (MIM) platform, WhatsApp, to provide supervision and support for student nurse tutors during a teaching practice placement in Nigeria. Methods: A descriptive qualitative method was used to design and evaluate a six-week WhatsApp group discussion intervention among 19 student nurse tutors. Two pre-intervention focus group sessions (n=9 and n=10) and a workshop were conducted to assess the students' content needs and media usage, and to develop a short online supervisory curriculum. To evaluate the intervention, two focus group sessions (n=9 and n=9) were carried out, transcribed verbatim, and analysed together with the actual WhatsApp conversations using thematic content analysis. Findings: The participants found the WhatsApp-enabled learning space valuable, in particular for the transfer and application of knowledge in their day-to-day teaching practice and, more generally, for their professional development. There were rich and multifaceted indicators of learning and professional development in evidence which were mostly triggered by specific facilitation techniques. The four themes from the WhatsApp conversations are: (1) sharing and discussing "tricks of the trade"; (2) providing direction and triggering reflective (teaching) practice; (3) sparking professional discussions and announcing professional development opportunities; and (4) maintaining a continuous moderating and teaching "presence". Conclusion: Despite some technical challenges centred mainly on the accessibility of the MIM space, the study identified indicators of good supervision practice and the results point to the feasibility and value of MIM to enhance supervision during teaching practice.
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Two innovative studies in Nigeria and South Africa have highlighted the potential for using a WhatsApp platform for teaching, supervising and supporting students in their integration of theory with clinical practice.
“Two innovative studies in Nigeria [39] and South Africa [40] has highlighted the potential for using a WhatsApp platform for teaching, supervising and supporting students in their integration of theory with clinical practice.”
From Barriers and enablers of implementing bubble Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP): Perspectives of health professionals in Malawi (2020) · cites this paper as [39]
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Additional file 2 of General and tuberculosis-specific service readiness in two states in Nigeria
Oluwasanu, M. M., Hassan, A., Adebayo, A. M., Ogbuji, Q. C., Adeniyi, B. O., David, A., Ladipo, O. A., Ajuwon, G. A., & Ajuwon, A. (2020) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.12864314
Self-citationAdditional file 1 of General and tuberculosis-specific service readiness in two states in Nigeria
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Self-citationAdditional file 3 of General and tuberculosis-specific service readiness in two states in Nigeria
Oluwasanu, M. M., Hassan, A., Adebayo, A. M., Ogbuji, Q. C., Adeniyi, B. O., David, A., Ladipo, O. A., Ajuwon, G. A., & Ajuwon, A. (2020) · Figshare · doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.12864317
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- Authors
- Ajuwon, A.
- Affiliations
- University of Ibadan (NG)
- Corresponding author
- Ajuwon, Ademola
- ORCID
- Ajuwon, Ademola
- Venue
- Malawi Medical Journal
- Publisher
- African Journals Online (AJOL)
- Published
- 2018-06-30
- Volume
- 30
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 120
- ISSN
- 1995-7262 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC6307071
- OpenAlex
- W2857372894
- Cited by
- 20
- References
- 12
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 10
- FWCI
- 3.48
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- diamond
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by-nc-nd
- Locations
- Malawi Medical Journal (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Health › Social Media in Health Education
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Information Systems › Mobile Learning in Education
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Innovations in Medical Education
- Keywords
- mobile instant messaging, WhatsApp, teaching practice, clinical supervision, nursing education, professional development, reflective practice, virtual learning environments, Nigeria
- MeSH terms
- Communication, Humans, Inservice Training, Learning, Nigeria, Students, Nursing, Teaching, Program Evaluation, Focus Groups, Text Messaging, Mobile Applications
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