Module Components

• Overview
• Assignments

Topics

• Concept Mapping
• Clinical Instruction
• Preceptor
• Mentoring
• Reflection

Nurs 791 - Instructional Strategies and Assessment

Module 7: Learner Intensive Strategies

Clinical Instruction

One definition of clinical is the bedside treatment of a patient. The clinical takes the learner from books to bedside and bridges the gap between knowledge and practice. The traditional clinical experience includes a cohort of students and an instructor who together provide care for clients in a clinical setting in which the instructor has clinical expertise.

How do health professionals learn to be clinical instructors?

A program was developed by Mrs. Lisa McKenna to introduce clinical instructors to their role. The following topics were included in the program:

Session 1: Introduction to clinical teaching: roles, models and resources
Session 2: Educational and nursing theories in clinical teaching
Session 3: The clinical learning cycle
Session 4: Clinical teaching methods
Session 5: Clinical assessment
Session 6: Problems in clinical teaching

Mrs. McKenna asked program participants to rate the topics presented by their importance. Although this program was developed in Australia, the topics of most importance to prospective preceptors were learning the types of clinical teaching methods, followed by problems in clinical teaching, the clinical learning cycle, and the role of the clinical teacher.

How do students view clinicals?

Dominic Chan studied students perception of the clinical learning environment. He found that students preferred a more positive clinical learning environment than the one they experienced.