Background: The preceptor’s role in nursing education remains important for its relevance in the professional development of student nurses and their advancement to becoming competent practitioners. Psychiatric nursing units address the management of complex mental health conditions that necessitate specific competencies from student nurses. It was unclear how the preceptors’ supportive role was experienced by student nurses placed in a psychiatric hospital. Aim: This study aimed to gain insight into the supportive role of preceptors in inspiring fourth-year student nurses to become competent in clinical practice at a South African public psychiatric hospital. Setting: The study was conducted at one of South Africa’s largest psychiatric public hospital, where fourth-year student nurses were placed to complete their psychiatric clinical nursing practice hours. Methods: The research employed a descriptive phenomenological design with individual interviews. Homogeneous purposive sampling was followed and 11 interviews with an interview guide were conducted at which stage data and meaning saturation were obtained. Interviews lasted between 30 min- 45 min and data analysis followed seven-step method. Results: Students experienced preceptors as unreplaceable in providing support during clinical practices. Professionalism, respect and inclusivity were the defining characteristics of the welcoming learning atmosphere that preceptors provided. Student nurses praised the preceptors’ willingness to respond to questions, treat them like professionals and support their required learning opportunities. Conclusion: In this study, participants reported a positive experience with preceptors, noting no challenges encountered. Contribution: This study contributes to the understanding of the critical supporting role of preceptors to student nurses in a psychiatric hospital.

The aim of this study resonated with the pursuit of achieving enhanced engagement in teaching and learning that informs critical thinking, and knowledge retention among students. Despite the growing trend of technological integration in teaching and learning, however, there exists a lack of empirical evidence and comprehensive studies that investigate the effectiveness of gaming in promoting educational objectives within rural institution of higher learning in South Africa. To investigate this gap, a systematic review method was employed, which provides a comprehensive and logical analysis of existing literature on the significance of gaming in teaching and learning within rural institutions of higher education. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were used in the study to enhance the rigor and transparency of the research process, by providing a solid foundation for synthesizing and interpreting existing literature relevant to the study. The systematic review findings revealed that the significance of gamification in teaching and learning in rural higher education lies in its ability to overcome accessibility challenges, provide personalized learning experiences, address motivation and retention issues, and enhance digital literacy. It was recommended that by incorporating gamified approaches, rural higher educational institutions can create a more inclusive, engaging, and effective learning environment for students within the rural institutions of higher learning in South Africa.

Stress is prevalent among health science students, particularly in rural settings where access to mental health resources is limited. Mobile health (mHealth) interventions offer a promising avenue for providing accessible support for stress management. This scoping review aims to identify existing mHealth interventions, evaluate their feasibility and acceptability, and explore the specific needs of students within these contexts. This scoping review will be conducted using the Arksey and O'Malley framework, a structured approach that consists of six stages: identifying the research question, searching for relevant studies, selecting studies, charting the data, collating and summarising the results, and consulting stakeholders. The search will include a comprehensive range of electronic databases and grey literature sources to ensure broad coverage of relevant studies. The Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) guidelines will be used to enhance the methodology, ensuring rigour and transparency throughout the review process. A systematic search strategy will be employed across multiple databases to gather relevant literature on mHealth interventions targeting stress management among health science students. The findings of this review, which will be disseminated through academic journals and conferences, are crucial in informing policymakers, researchers, and educators about effective mHealth strategies tailored for health science students. By highlighting gaps in current research and practice, this review will contribute valuable insights that can guide future intervention development and implementation in rural settings. The findings from this review will help shape a contextually appropriate mHealth program designed to support stress management for health science students studying in rural university settings.

Background: Health science students’ well-being and academic performance are important concerns in under-resourced universities. However, there is limited insight into mHealth interventions and institutional support for psychological stress driven by demanding curricula and socioeconomic disparities. Digital therapeutics (DTx) offer scalable technology-enabled support for stress management. Aim: This narrative review explores how DTx can complement or enhance existing stress management approaches for health science students in under-resourced South African universities. Methods: A narrative literature search was conducted across four databases: PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar. Publications were from 2020 to 2024 on DTx addressing stress among university students, in low-resource settings and theoretical foundations. PRISMA guidelines informed reporting, and thematic synthesis followed Braun and Clarke. Theoretical frameworks informed analysis of effectiveness, the digital divide and mental health service integration. Results: The synthesis of nine studies, institutional reports and grey literature yielded four main themes: infrastructural and financial constraints, psychological and sociocultural barriers, facilitators and success factors and integration with university mental health services. Conclusion: Barriers included poor connectivity, high data costs, limited digital literacy, stigma around mental health and weak institutional support. Effective DTx adoption in low-resource settings requires overcoming barriers and strengthening policy, practice and research. Contribution: Digital therapeutics have the potential to play an important role in addressing mental health inequities among health science students in South Africa and similar contexts. The study contributes insights into digital health interventions to enhance support systems in higher education.