DESCRIBE Your IDEAL Nursing Instructor

[VickyRN]

As a new ADN instructor, I am very interested in hearing about GOOD QUALITIES that you students desire in instructors. SOOOO, describe to me the NURSING INSTRUCTOR of YOUR DREAMS.

Let me break this down into 2 parts:

#1--LECTURES--what sorts of lectures are most appealing to you (straight lecture, PP, reading out of the book, shooting off from the hip, etc., etc..)??? What do you NOT like in a lecture?

#2--CLINICALS--what sorts of behaviors do you LIKE in a clinical instructor? What sorts of clinical settings do you most enjoy??? What sorts of behaviors do you most DETEST in clinical instructors?

Thanx for the input:kiss !!!

"Vicky"

[CountrifiedRN]

I love that you are asking these questions, it says a lot about your eagerness to teach and be a great instructor!

Ok, for lecture I like the powerpoint presentations and hand outs because it makes it easier to keep notes organized. It's also nice when there is reference to what book is used because we often have many books that sometimes have conflicting information on the same subject.

I don't know if this is within your control or not, but it is helpful if the lecture reflects the clinical rotation. We've had some semesters in our program where we attend, let's say, the ICU clinical rotation in the beginning of the semester, but don't actually learn about ventilators and diprivan drips until the last part of the semester which is a few months later. (Bad planning on the part of our program)

I think that there will always be some course content that is just impossible to make interesting, but I like an instructor who is open to ideas and suggestions about the class. We've had instructors who say "I have taught this way for 20 years, and I'm not about to change it now", and in the next breath say "In nursing we must learn to be flexible and adapt to new situations". (They never see the irony in it either)

For clinical I could probably write a book, but I'll try to keep it short.

Good instructors are as quick to offer praise as they are to offer criticism.

Please don't yell at a student in front of others, whether it be docs, nurses, patients, or other students. Too many in our program do that and it seems more of a power issue than the mistake the student made. More often than not, it makes the others who were witness to it lose respect for the instructor, not the student.

If a student is doing a new procedure, talk through it first, before going into the room.

Offer guidance when necessary, but give the student enough time to complete the procedure. We're pretty slow when we first start!

One thing that I have seen in my proogram is that fear and intimidation are not conducive to learning, and most students will just try to "fly under the radar" if they feel intimidated rather than get the hands on experience they need. Try to encourage the students to get all of the experience they can, and be available to assist or assign procedures, because the nurses are often too busy to help a student when they can just do the procedure faster themselves.

I hope this helps! Just curious, if you don't mind me asking, what level students will you be teaching? I think it makes a difference for clinical if the student is in first semester as opposed to last semester.

[CountrifiedRN]

I love that you are asking these questions, it says a lot about your eagerness to teach and be a great instructor!

Ok, for lecture I like the powerpoint presentations and hand outs because it makes it easier to keep notes organized. It's also nice when there is reference to what book is used because we often have many books that sometimes have conflicting information on the same subject.

I don't know if this is within your control or not, but it is helpful if the lecture reflects the clinical rotation. We've had some semesters in our program where we attend, let's say, the ICU clinical rotation in the beginning of the semester, but don't actually learn about ventilators and diprivan drips until the last part of the semester which is a few months later. (Bad planning on the part of our program)

I think that there will always be some course content that is just impossible to make interesting, but I like an instructor who is open to ideas and suggestions about the class. We've had instructors who say "I have taught this way for 20 years, and I'm not about to change it now", and in the next breath say "In nursing we must learn to be flexible and adapt to new situations". (They never see the irony in it either)

For clinical I could probably write a book, but I'll try to keep it short.

Good instructors are as quick to offer praise as they are to offer criticism.

Please don't yell at a student in front of others, whether it be docs, nurses, patients, or other students. Too many in our program do that and it seems more of a power issue than the mistake the student made. More often than not, it makes the others who were witness to it lose respect for the instructor, not the student.

If a student is doing a new procedure, talk through it first, before going into the room.

Offer guidance when necessary, but give the student enough time to complete the procedure. We're pretty slow when we first start!

One thing that I have seen in my proogram is that fear and intimidation are not conducive to learning, and most students will just try to "fly under the radar" if they feel intimidated rather than get the hands on experience they need. Try to encourage the students to get all of the experience they can, and be available to assist or assign procedures, because the nurses are often too busy to help a student when they can just do the procedure faster themselves.

I hope this helps! Just curious, if you don't mind me asking, what level students will you be teaching? I think it makes a difference for clinical if the student is in first semester as opposed to last semester.

[BABNRS]

Vicky,

All of the advice her is WONDERFUL!

Clinicals -

Most importantly I would beseech you to remember how it felt! Remember how intimidated you felt when you got ready to do that first CBG or give that Tylenol to a patient for the first time! PRAISE, PRAISE, PRAISE, PRAISE. If they do something well, praise them for it. If they do something wrong, praise what they did right and then point out what went wrong : "I really like the way that you tucked the corners on the sheets, but perhaps next time you could put up the side rail so we don't have to pick the patient up off of the floor" :roll

[BABNRS]

Vicky,

All of the advice her is WONDERFUL!

Clinicals -

Most importantly I would beseech you to remember how it felt! Remember how intimidated you felt when you got ready to do that first CBG or give that Tylenol to a patient for the first time! PRAISE, PRAISE, PRAISE, PRAISE. If they do something well, praise them for it. If they do something wrong, praise what they did right and then point out what went wrong : "I really like the way that you tucked the corners on the sheets, but perhaps next time you could put up the side rail so we don't have to pick the patient up off of the floor" :roll

[VickyRN, MSN, DNP, RN]

Thank you so much for the pointers--be rest assured it will be put to good use!!!

God bless!!!

[VickyRN, MSN, DNP, RN]

Thank you so much for the pointers--be rest assured it will be put to good use!!!

God bless!!!

[essarge]

Best instructor(s) - the ones who were animated in class. They showed a real passion for nursing, students, and patients. Told stories (some happy some sad) about their experiences and when asked a question, answered it in an understandable way.

Worst instructor(s) - 1. Those that read the chapter to you verbatum. 2. One in particular, had just recieved their doctorate (great accomplishment) and then thought that they were better than anyone else....consistently put students down and bragged about what she'd done to students in the past (thrown them off the floor, failing them because they were stupid).

[essarge]

Best instructor(s) - the ones who were animated in class. They showed a real passion for nursing, students, and patients. Told stories (some happy some sad) about their experiences and when asked a question, answered it in an understandable way.

Worst instructor(s) - 1. Those that read the chapter to you verbatum. 2. One in particular, had just recieved their doctorate (great accomplishment) and then thought that they were better than anyone else....consistently put students down and bragged about what she'd done to students in the past (thrown them off the floor, failing them because they were stupid).

[JuicyJem]

I have had several instructors that I liked, one that I hated, and one that I loved. I think all instructors have different styles and student have to adapt to them, or we won't get through school.

In lecture, I like to be able to follow along with you. I like to hear stories from personal experience. I do not like to be read to. My OB Pedi teachers wanted us to get good use out of our books, so they followed them exactly. It was okay until we got to Pedi, and none of them were ever actually Pedi nurses, so they read word for word from the book. I like it when my instructors ask questions in class, when they dont expect you to know the answer, but just to see if you do. Emphasize what you consider important for students to take from each lecture.

In clinical, try to put students at ease if they are obviously scared. Dont accept incomplete clinical preparation, and with that, be consistent not to do it for the girl who was up all night with cramps or whatever. I feel that if everyone is given the same prep assignment, they should all have to do it the same.

If you expect your students to stay on the floor the entire time and have lots to do, stay on the floor with them and make sure they have stuff to do. Sometimes the nurses assume students cant do stuff and do it themselves, unless the instructors are there to tell them otherwise.

I think you will be a great instructor because it is obvious that you want your students to have a good experience or you wouldnt have posted this message. Good luck.

[debralynn]

The Perfect Instructor! Don't treat us like children, my God, I was 44, and was not the oldest! Also when a student makes a med error(like I did), and is truthful about the error (to ensure the health of their patient), don't take all possible points away!!!! At least give the student .5 points for honesty! And I agree with alot of the other posts, dont show favorites; and especially dont expect us to be Professional at all times. We are still LEARNING! We are not professionals yet, remember we are STUDENTS!

[teeituptom, BSN, RN]

I always wanted one like Brigette Bardot

[FullMoonMadness]

My favorite instructor is the one I have for Med/Surg now.She knows the material back and forth, and never makes any one feel stupid if they have a wrong answer in class.

Example: We had a drug calculation test that had to passed with 100%. One day, she said we were going to have a pracice test, just to get us used to what we could expect. No stress because it was only practice. After we took the practice test, and everyone made 100, she told us that it had been the real test, she just did not want us to be nervous before.

Example: yesterday we had a very stressful test( nothing on her tests are strait answers, all very complicated scenarios). After the test, instead of making us sit through a long leture, we played jeapordy with the categories all pertaining to pancreatic and renal situations. It was fun, and we learned a lot from it.

I usually make very high grades but this time I am sitting on a high C low B. But, I told her that even though my grades may not reflect it, I have learned more from her than any other instructer because she really makes us think.