Clinical Instructors for Students

Introduction

Clinical instructors play a crucial role in shaping the future of healthcare by training students on-site to deliver patient-centered, team-based care. Respiratory care clinical instructors are particularly integral in preparing students to be effective practitioners, given that almost 50% of the respiratory care curriculum is conducted in the clinical environment under their supervision. Professional competence, interpersonal relationships, personality characteristics, and teaching ability are all qualities that clinical instructors should possess to provide students with quality clinical education experiences.

Study Purpose

The purpose of this mixed-method study was to (1) explore and compare respiratory care faculty and students’ perceptions of the most important characteristics of an effective clinical instructor, (2) compare respiratory care academic and clinical faculty perceptions of characteristics of an effective clinical instructor, and (3) compare respiratory care students’ perceptions of effective clinical instructor characteristics as they progress through the respiratory care program. A letter of solicitation, which contained a link to an online questionnaire, was sent to all respiratory care program directors in the US via email. Program directors’ emails were secured from the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC) website, which provides an alphabetical listing of all accredited respiratory care education programs.

Methodology

The clinical instructor’s effectiveness questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data. Three open-ended questions were also included to gather qualitative data. Data was secured for both respiratory care faculty and students. A total of 176 faculty and 122 students completed the questionnaire. Respiratory care faculty scored the highest mean in the professional competency subscale (µ = 4.81) and the lowest mean in the interpersonal relationship subscale (µ = 4.5), while respiratory care students scored the highest mean in the interpersonal relationship subscale (µ = 4.58) and the lowest in the professional competence subscale (µ = 4.52).

Results

An independent sample t-test revealed non-significant differences between respiratory care academic and clinical faculty. A Mann-Whitney U test revealed significant differences between respiratory care faculty and students in the professional competence (p = .001) and interpersonal relationship (p = .01) subscales. An ANOVA test revealed a significant difference between students as they progress through the program in the interpersonal relationship subscale (p = .02).

Discussion

The qualitative findings of this study showed that respiratory care faculty prioritized evaluation skills and professional competence as the most important characteristics of an effective clinical instructor. However, students prioritized personality characteristics and interpersonal relationships as the most important characteristics. Training clinical instructors to be familiar with adult learning styles emerged as a theme from faculty responses. Hands-on experience was the emergent theme from students’ responses to positive learning experiences, while the theory-to-practice gap was the emergent theme from students’ responses to negative learning experiences.

Conclusion

Clinical instructors should provide students with a caring learning environment that is based on mutual respect and open to dialogue. Positive interpersonal relationships with students are a crucial factor in determining a clinical instructor’s effectiveness. Clinical instructors should attempt to meet the students at their level of knowledge to reduce anxiety and fear of these complex learning environments. Once a bond is made, the clinical instructors can then move the students along their journey of knowledge acquisition and application. Training programs that provide clinical instructors with a strong foundation in mentorship for learning should be required for all clinical instructors before receiving students.

References

American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

Modern Language Association. (2021). MLA Handbook (9th ed.). New York, NY: The Modern Language Association of America.

Keywords: Clinical Education, Clinical Instructor, Interpersonal Relationship, Respiratory Care Education, Respiratory Care Faculty