The Development of Students' Perceptions of Effective Teaching: The Ideal, Best and Poorest Clinical Teacher in Nursing

This article attempts to study students' perceptions of effective clinical teacher in nursing. To do this, 123 students from three schools with different curricula identified the important characteristics of a clinical teacher, using a modified NCTEI instrument. Then each respondent assessed to what extent her or his best and poorest clinical teachers possess these characteristics. The profile of an effective clinical teacher which emerged places the highest weight on the nursing competencies of the teacher and downplays both interpersonal relationships and personality traits. Differences between 2nd and 3rd year students were found in the placement of teaching skills and evaluation characteristics. No differences were disclosed among the compared schools. Conflicting research findings are analyzed. The results strongly suggest that the image of the ideal clinical teacher is not rooted in an existing teacher figure. The possible implications of the findings on the role model function of the clinical teacher are discussed.