Role model behaviors in the clinical setting

The purpose of this study was to identify the role modeling behaviors of clinical nursing faculty that junior and senior baccalaureate students consider important. Bandura's Social Learning Theory provided the theoretical framework for the three research questions. A questionnaire, composed of 28 role model behaviors, was constructed to correspond to the three research questions. The overall alpha coefficient for the questionnaire was .95. The findings of this study indicate that clinical faculty are considered role models by their students. Students perceived themselves as practicing the role model behaviors, but they also perceived that the clinical faculty were inconsistent in rewarding them for their attempts to emulate those behaviors considered important. Areas for future research are discussed.