A National Survey of Collaboration Between Nurse Faculty Members and Staff Nurses in the Clinical Learning...

The purpose of this study was to measure collaboration in the clinical learning environment.

Clinical learning, which is essential for nursing education, allows students to integrate what they have learned in the classroom in a complex social context with an interactive network of forces. Stakeholders are nursing students, nursing faculty, and staff nurses who must collaborate in providing an effective learning environment for students.

Quantitative data were collected via the Collaboration in the Clinical Learning Environment tool, an author-developed 24-item Likert scale designed to measure the amount of collaboration between staff nurses and nursing faculty members in the clinical learning environment.

Three groups (n = 882) were surveyed: staff nurses, nurse faculty, and nurses who worked concurrently in academia and practice.

This study adds to the literature on collaboration between nursing faculty members and staff nurses. It also highlights areas for improvement for both parties.