Effective Clinical Instructor-a Step toward Excellence in Clinical Teaching

The challenge of clinical teaching is to transform novice nursing students to practicing nurses. The teaching–learning interaction is complex and its effectiveness depend upon the teaching and learning styles of the instructor and student. Clinical instructors with model professional behaviors facilitate clinical learning. A pivotal factor for student success is the teacher’s interpersonal and instructional abilities. Student satisfaction with clinical teaching reflects not only strength of clinical teachers but also the positive aspects of clinical education. Clinical teaching excellence could be achieved by having effective clinical instructor characteristics such as professional competence, expert knowledge, demonstrable clinical competence with skills in clinical teaching, positive interpersonal relationships with students that portray confidence, respect, support and accessibility, with effective communicative and collaborative skills. As multicultural faculties are involved in clinical instructions, being aware of effective clinical instructor characteristics that are perceived as important by nursing students, teaching strategies and attitudes can be reinforced, changed, or developed towards excellence in clinical teaching. Being effective clinical Instructor, nursing students can feel clinical learning as an enjoyable experience.