The clinical instructor program: An online model for clinical education

34^th International Nurse Education & Nurse Specialist Conference

November 08-09, 2017 | New Orleans, USA

Jeannie Weston

Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, USA

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: Adv Practice Nurs

Abstract :

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the development and consequent introduction of an online program called the Clinical Instructor Program (CIP) was helpful in improving feelings of efficacy for nurse clinicians who have experience in clinical teaching or who are new to the role of clinical instructor. Toward this purpose, four research questions were addressed: feelings of self-efficacy before and after CIP participation, understanding of the clinical instructor role, knowledge of instructional content, and understanding of instructional strategies. Content for the CIP modules included the value and use of a philosophy for teaching, the importance of a synergistic relationship between instructor and student and suggestions for the orientation day. Additional modular content included strategies for matching curriculum with clinical practice, evaluation of the student, and strategies for teaching; these strategies include teaching with emotional intelligence, the art of questioning, and suggestions for teaching critical thinking. 35 clinical nursing instructors, both experienced and novice took a pretest, the self-efficacy towards teaching inventory (SETTI), to measure feelings of efficacy before program participation. Both novice and experienced instructors demonstrated significant improvement in self-efficacy and understanding of role; experienced instructors improved in all areas, validating the CIP as a model for clinical instruction.