ABSTRACT
Background and Purpose: Clinical teaching is a vital element in Nursing and Midwifery education, and one of the best sources of clinical teacher evaluation is the students' perceptions. This study was conducted to investigate the characteristics of an effective clinical teacher from the perspective of Nursing and Midwifery Students at Sabzevar University of medical Sciences
Methods and Materials: This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted at Sabzevar University of medical Sciences in 2007-2008, and involved 120 participants who were recruited by convenient sampling. A researcher-made questionnaire was used for data collection, which contained questions on professional competency, communication with students, and personal characteristics. Items values ranged from zero to five. Frequency, mean and standard deviation, independent t-test and Pearson correlation coefficient were used for data analysis was done in SPSS 11.5
Results: Mean score of professional competency was 4 +/- 0.5; students' perceptions of professional competency became more positive as their education approached higher semesters [r=0.22, p=0.016]. Also, Mean score of professional competency was higher than the mean of communication with students [3.8 +/- 0.6], and personal characteristics [3.7 +/- 0.6]
Concluson: Students experiencing clinical training considered professional competency, knowledge, and the capability of transferring it to them as more important than their ability to communicate