Dedicated Educational Nursing Unit: Clinical Instructors Role Perceptions and Learning Needs

Over the past decade, health care leaders have called for a radical transformation in health care and nursing education. Patient care has become complex, demanding succinct interprofessional communication and collaboration to optimize the care of the patient, and the nurse at the bedside is the optimal leader at the point of care. Assistance with the clinical reasoning and critical thinking with nursing students is pivotal for successful patient outcomes. The expert clinical nurse at the bedside is the premier faculty to guide the young practitioner in the care of the patient. A dedicated educational unit (DEU) is an example of an academic-practice partnership designed to provide students with a positive clinical learning environment. The purpose of this qualitative research study was to identify the role perceptions of staff nurse's participating as clinical instructors on a DEU and the perceived educational learning needs of the experienced staff nurses. After Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System Institutional Review Board approval, a total of 8 nurses serving in the role of clinical instructor on a DEU participated in the study. Content analyses were used to code and synthesize common theses from the interviews. The themes that emerged related to role perception were mentoring, ensuring competency with basic skills and tasks, and development of critical thinking in nursing clinical education. The themes related to perceived learning needs of staff nurses related to the role of clinical instructor were the need for clear objectives from the academic affiliate, more coordination and acknowledgement by the academic affiliate, and addition education in dealing with students with diverse learning needs and accommodations.