Clinical Education Status and Factors Affecting Effective Clinical Education from the Viewpoints of Nursing Students in Alborz University of Medical Sciences In the year 2020

Introduction: Due to the important role of nursing in the health care system of the country, it is necessary to pay attention to improving the quality of clinical education. This study aimed to determine the status of clinical education and the factors affecting effective clinical education from the perspective of nursing students of Alborz University of Medical Sciences in the year 2020.   Methods: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study in which all 3rd to 8th semester nursing undergraduate students of Alborz University of Medical Sciences were enrolled by the census method. Data collection tools included a demographic questionnaire, a questionnaire to assess the status of clinical education ,and questionnaire to evaluate the factors affecting effective clinical education. The collected data were analyzed by SPSS software version 26 and descriptive statistics.  Results: A total of 155 nursing students participated in this study. According to the findings, in the status of clinical education questionnaire, mean scores obtained in the areas of goals and educational program (3.30±0.74) at the moderate level, instructor performance (3.65±0.75) at a good level, dealing with the student (2.92±0.88) at the moderate level, the educational environment (2.75±0.88) was at the moderate level and monitoring and evaluation (3.13±0.98) were at the moderate level. Also, in the questionnaire of factors affecting effective clinical education, mean scores obtained in the areas of student personal characteristics (3.67±0.84), personal characteristics of clinical instructor (3.59±0.92), clinical environment conditions (3.06±1.02), educational planning (3.26±1.02) ,and clinical evaluation (3.05±1.02).  Conclusion: The status of clinical education from the perspective of the students was moderate. Also, the two areas of student personal characteristics and personal characteristics of the clinical instructor are more effective in clinical education. Admitting students based on the capacity of clinical standards, providing welfare educational facilities, determining the duties of instructors and students in teaching hospitals, using modern methods of clinical education, and virtual hospital to improve and enhance the quality of clinical education is necessary.