First-year nursing students at the NorthWest University (NWU) brought presence and good care to the older persons at Groenwilgers Retirement Village in Potchefstroom. NWU nursing students participated in a meaningful initiative on October 2 at Groenwilgers as part of their Work Integrated Learning (WIL).

These students spent a day implementing Day 1 of the 31 Day “Presence and good care to older persons: A programme to facilitate presence practices”, by establishing professional relationships with older persons. This programme focuses on providing good care for older persons through cultivating presence practices, including professional relationships with older persons, their colleagues, and the families of the older persons.

During their visit, students practiced presence and provided good care to older persons by establishing professional relationships with the older persons and the staff at Groenwilgers. This programme, developed by Dr Petro Benadé, a lecturer at the NWU, as part of her PhD, has the potential to enhance the mental and physical well-being of managers, nurses, caregivers, and older persons. The students’ participation in this programme not only enhanced their skills but also brought joy and companionship to the older persons of Groenwilgers.

This experience is a valuable part of nursing education and dissemination of research findings, allowing the nursing students to apply theoretical knowledge and research findings in a real-world setting. Furthermore, the students also engaged with the older persons by spending time with them and spoiled every one of them with sweet and savory refreshments. Refreshments were also provided to all the staff at Groenwilgers as a gesture of thankfulness for their compassion towards the older persons and for being role models for the nursing students.

Four 4th year nursing students joined the event and handed out toiletry bags donated by Life Healthcare, as arranged by Mariska Oosthuizen van Tonder, clinical preceptor of the fourthyear students. During the event, the guardian lecturer of the first-year students for 2025, Anna-Therese Swart, rewarded the two first-year students who made the biggest contribution in practice during the year.
Afterwards, all the NWU students and staff enjoyed their refreshments. They were also asked to reflect on the day. The School of Nursing would like to thank the manager, Sandra Stroh, and the Nursing Services Manager, Sr Madeleine le Roux, and their staff for always accommodating our NWU nursing students. They are all highly appreciated.