Characteristics of 'best' and 'worst' clinical teachers as perceived by university nursing faculty and students.

This study identified and compared characteristics of 'best' and 'worst' clinical teachers as perceived by university nursing faculty and students. The Nursing Clinical Teacher Effectiveness Inventory (NCTEI) was distributed to 201 volunteer subjects. This survey instrument, developed by the authors, contains 48 clinical teacher characteristics grouped into five categories. Each participant was asked to rate, using the NCTEI, the 'best' and them the 'worst' clinical teacher from past observations. Results showed both groups perceived that being a good role model was the highest rated characteristic for 'best' teachers and the 'lowest' rated characteristic for 'worst' teachers. Faculty and students' perceptions were fairly similar as to highest rated characteristics of 'best' clinical teachers. Less agreement was noted about the characteristics of 'worst' clinical teachers. When categories of clinical teacher characteristics were compared, there were significant differences between the ratings of faculty and students for 'best' clinical teachers, but none for 'worst' clinical teachers.

Important clinical teacher behaviours as perceived by university nursing faculty, students and graduates.

This study compared the importance of five categories of clinical teacher behaviours as perceived by university nursing faculty, students and practising baccalaureate graduates. A survey tool, developed for this study, contained 47 items; each item describing a clinical teacher behaviour. Participants were asked to rate the importance of each item on a seven-point Likert-type scale. Results showed similar perceptions of the importance of clinical teacher behaviours between the three groups of participants. However, significant differences were found between all groups when the perceptions of students in each of the 4 years of the nursing programme, faculty and graduates were compared. These results indicate a greater variability among students than between students, faculty and practising baccalaureate graduates. The importance of this study lies not only in the perceptions of the three groups and the questions this raises, but also in the conflicting findings between this and other studies.

The experience of stress in parents of children hospitalized with long-term disabilities.

This paper discusses parents' perceptions of their stress when their children are hospitalized with long-term disabilities. The study used a qualitative method. Data were collected with 40 parents through in-hospital interviews, and were analysed using the method of constant, comparative analysis. Parents' own interpretation of their stress experience is considered in relation to their perception of their role. The data suggest that the hospitalization of a child requires parents to make changes in their usual parenting role. In describing the nature of the changes required, parents identified the need to understand the illness experience; become familiar with the hospital environment; adapt to their changing relationship with the child and other family members; and negotiate with health professionals about their child's care. Verbatim accounts are used in this paper to illustrate parents' interpretations of their hospital experience. Parents perceive their role in their hospitalized child's care differently than health professionals do, and it would appear that much parental stress is attributable to the 'space' between health care workers' understanding of parents' experience, and parents' own comprehension. If nurses understood parents' own perception of their hospital-related stress better, more effective nursing care could be developed. Further research is needed in this important area.