Nursing Students' Experiences and Perceptions of Effective Instructor in Clinical Education

Introduction: Clinical education program was designed to promote nursing education which its processes are mainly aimed at students. Despite all of this, less attention has been paid to students' feedback in this process. This study focused on nursing students' personal experiences about instructors' roles in clinical education program and intended to clarify the concept of "effective instructor" in clinical education. Methods: Using purposeful sampling method, 12 nursing students of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, who had passed at least one clinical education course, were selected and studied through phenomenological approach. Data was gathered through in-depth interview. Raw data was analyzed using Colaizzi method. The validity and reliability of the study was acquired through considering four elements of factual value, applicability, consistency and neutrality. Results: The interview texts were analyzed and the codes were extracted. Then, the codes were categorized into eight major concepts of presence, instructor as evaluator, instructor as communicator, instructor as experience provider, instructor as motivator, instructor as supervisor, instructor as moderator, and instructor as supporter. Conclusion: Participants in this study emphasized the instructor's key role in forming an appropriate or safe working environment. They revealed that the instructor can play an effective and useful role in clinical learning by providing new information, supporting the students thoroughly, and supervising their performance. In addition to experiencing some levels of dependence, participants accentuated the necessity for establishing a safe environment in order to provide learning opportunities for students. They also confirmed effective role playing by the teacher as an appropriate input for nursing students' needs.