Perceptions of effective clinical teachers in associate degree programs

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Clinical Teaching Effectiveness
• Associate Degree Nursing Programs

Background:

• Understanding perceptions of clinical teacher effectiveness is crucial for improving nursing education.
• Limited research exists on associate degree nursing students' and faculty's views on clinical teacher characteristics.
• Previous studies often focus on baccalaureate nursing programs, potentially overlooking unique associate degree needs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine and compare perceptions of essential characteristics of associate degree clinical teachers between students and faculty.
• To identify key attributes that define effective clinical teaching in associate degree nursing programs.

Main Methods:

• A quantitative study utilizing the Nursing Clinical Teacher Effectiveness Inventory.
• Participants included 199 associate degree nursing students and 22 faculty members from two southwestern community colleges.
• Data analysis focused on comparing student and faculty ratings of 48 identified characteristics.

Main Results:

• Both students and faculty highly rated nearly all 48 items, indicating strong consensus on effective teaching qualities.
• Specific highly rated items included 'Corrects students' mistakes without belittling them' (4.85) and 'Directs students to useful literature in nursing' (3.86).
• No significant differences were found between student and faculty perceptions across most subsets of characteristics.

Conclusions:

• Associate degree nursing students and faculty share similar views on the most important characteristics of effective clinical teachers.
• The characteristic 'good role modeling' was rated lower in this study compared to previous research on baccalaureate students.
• Findings underscore the need for continued research into associate degree nursing clinical education and teacher effectiveness.