Determining effective nursing teacher behaviors in clinical settings

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine behaviors characteristic of effective clinical teaching in nursing. It was also the intent to identify areas of convergence and divergence among educators, practitioners and students as to perceptions of effective clinical teaching behaviors. Procedure: An instrument was developed through a Delphi process involving input from nursing educators, nursing practitioners and students of nursing. At the completion of the Delphi, the instrument was considered in fin al form for data collection. This 60-item instrument, constructed as a Likert-type scale, was labeled the Clinical Teacher Behavior Rating Scale (CTBRS). This process comprised Stage I. The data collection (Stage II) consisted of administering the CTBRS to three subject groups. Participants consisted of nursing faculty and senior nursing students from four baccalaureate nursing programs within Texas. The other subjects were nursing practitioners with baccalaureate degrees who worked in the same geographical areas as the participating schools. The total sample consisted of 95 educators, 120 practitioners, and 189 students. Packets were prepared and mailed to subjects in each group. Results: Results of data analyses revealed that the three subject groups agreed that certain clinical teacher behaviors were very important. Items given especially high ratings addressed behaviors such as functioning as a role model for students, identifying important clinical content, and providing opportunities for students to practice problem solving and technical skills. Items which yielded differences which were both practically and statistically significant addressed issues such as treating students as colleagues, displaying knowledge pertaining to a specialty area, and giving indirect rather than direct feedback to students..