Desired Characteristics of Effective Nurse Educators - My Ideal Nursing Instructor

[VickyRN]

Consumer satisfaction is becoming increasingly important in institutes of higher learning. In order to be more accountable to taxpayers and politicians, scarce educational funds are being linked to optimal performance and outcomes. A pivotal factor for student success is the teacher's interpersonal and instructional abilities. Therefore, faculty pay raises, retention, promotion, and tenure are often tied into student evaluation scores on teaching effectiveness.

What characteristics of nursing instructors do learners consider ideal or most helpful to their success as nursing students? The following desirable educator attributes have been gleaned from a literature search:

Instructional ability/ communication skills

• communicates effectively; breaks down content in a down-to-earth manner
• clear goals, expectations, deadlines, desired outcomes
• organized
• knowledgeable of course materials
• interacts with students
• enthusiastic, energetic, eager
• well-prepared
• self-confident
• creative

Interpersonal skills

• encouraging demeanor
• friendly attitude
• mentoring approach
• motivational
• supportive
• respectful
• receptive to people and ideas
• open minded, objective, non-judgmental

Personality traits

• attentive
• nurturing
• demonstrates concern about students
• flexible, easy-going manner
• sense of humor

Accessibility

• approachable, welcoming
• has designated office hours

Nursing competence/ professionalism

• good role model
• dedicated
• clearly enjoys nursing and teaching
• skilled clinician

Evaluation procedures

• provides study guides/ outlines
• provides timely, constructive, and specific feedback
• gives tests that reflect course objectives, lecture materials, and study guides

Faculty should be receptive to student ratings and comments in end-of-semester evaluations. Student feedback is critical to improving the course and instructor effectiveness. research indicates that student suggestions regarding teaching style, course design, and delivery of material in the classroom or clinical settings are usually valid and should not be discounted. Criticism involving other matters, such as the instructor's knowledge base, may not be as accurate.

Nurse faculty should seek to be positive role models for students and should establish a relationship of mutual respect. Although high standards must be upheld and difficult situations occasionally arise, educators should be tolerant of minor student inadequacies and sensitive to student anxieties. Faculty should attempt to understand learners' fears and stressors and truly care about the students.

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References

role transition from expert clinician to clinical instructor

benoir, d. e., & leviyof, i. (1997). the development of students' perceptions of effective teaching: the ideal, best and poorest clinical teacher in nursing. journal of nursing education, 36(5), 206-211.

berg, c. l., & lindseth, g. (2004). students' perceptions of effective and ineffective nursing instructors. journal of nursing education, 43(12), 565-568.

morgan, j., & knox, j. e. (1987). characteristics of 'best' and 'worst' clinical teachers as perceived by university nursing faculty and students. journal of advanced nursing, 12, 331-337.

tang, f., chou, s., & chiang, h. (2005). students' perceptions of effective and ineffective clinical instructors. journal of nursing education, 44(4), 187-192.

whitehead, d. k., & sandiford, j. r. (1997). characteristics of effective clinical and theory instructors as perceived by lpn to rn students and generic students in an associate degree nursing program. retrieved june 26, 2009, from Journal of Health Occupations Education | University of Central Florida

wieck, k. l. (2003). faculty for the millennium: changes needed to attract the emerging workforce into nursing. journal of nursing education, 42(4), 151-158.

[psychonaut]

My favorite instructors in NS generally got the poorest evaluations by most of my fellow students, and for the same reasons: being tough, no-nonsense, and having very high expectations from the students. These were generally the instructors with many years of bedside experience (especially critical care in all its forms), topped with APN and/or PhD training.

These were the instructors who were "mean," "insensitive," and "too difficult." These were the instructors who had to be bullied by students into giving detailed study outlines, and who would dare to do things like include material on tests from the text that wasn't explicitly covered in lecture.

These were instructors like my critical-care clinical instructor who expected me to have a basic understanding of vent settings my first week of ICU clinical. We hadn't even covered that in lecture yet! Guess what: I should have read up on it anyways. The next week, she got me for not knowing (basics) about chest tube care. Third week, she did NOT get me on hemodynamics/lines related to the CVICU, because I had jumped ahead of the lecture and studied the cardiac chapters like mad.

That clinical instructor is a CNS in Trauma who first-assists in trauma surgery. She was awesome, busted my chops and got me to learn. I was very proud to have earned a modicum of her respect by the end of that clinical experience.

She was not invited back to teach the following semester. Too many negative evaluations from students. She made them work too hard, it was our last semester, several weren't even interested in critical care nursing in the first place, and of course...she was "mean."

In a nutshell, the "ideal nursing instructor" will vary by who you ask, and if the majority of the students surveyed are a bunch of whining, entitled brats, then well...you get what you ask for.

[harleyridingirl]

My favorite instructors so far have been enthusiatic. I actually felt like they really wanted me to learn and were happy when it was evident I was "getting it". The older women that had been nurses for years "have seen it all, done it all and know who I am". That's not true. I've been working since I was 15, owned my own business, raised my children, have grandchildren and made straight A's to get into nursing school. Some instructors treat us like young children who need to be reminded to behave. Why not treat us like the hard working students we are? Nursing is the hardest thing I've ever done in school and as a life long learner at 51 that says a lot. I think instructors should treat students with a little more respect because we worked hard to get in or you wouldn't have picked us. We don't know much but that's what we are counting on you to do, teach us. We want to learn. We want to do it right. There is so much stress to be perfect and some are struggling just to pass. Some people just dismiss us because we are nursing students but just think, we may be your nurse some day!

[bthsp]

SO RIGHT

[ToxicShock]

Thank you so much for posting this! I've really been thinking a lot about becoming a nursing instructor (in addition to doing bedside nursing and/or CRNA - lots of stuff I'm interested in hehe) and I'm happy to read that a lot of the desirable traits are ones that I have - or at least hope I do! And if I don't, I now have an excellent resource here!

[nurseynurse36]

But what do you do when you try to encompass those traits and then feel that your not a respected as you want to be? The students seem to want to dictate their opinions about tests and dates for completion and cut you off when speaking. A whole lot of whineing at times. Ohhh this is so much work but you said is what I hear often. Is it that way for all nursing classes? I find that I must slip back into the traditional evil instructor in order to regain control. Each time it bothers me greatly, but I don't want the students to think that they are in control or to have them think that I am going to do their work for them.

[harleyridingirl]

I have one instructor that is happy and fun and relates stories about illnesses with patients she had which helps us remember what to do and how the disease progresses. Everyone LOVES her but she is firm when it comes to reviewing test questions. But let me say, her test questions are usually straight up. We have a few instructors that throw in those questions that you can't answer or it's one tiny sentence in a chapter of 60 pages. Nursing school IS a lot of work. I don't know how the people that work or have kids at home do it. I personally have no life. It's school, studying, studying, studying. I carry a book with me at all times incase I get stuck in traffic or have to wait for 5 mins somewhere. This is a lot to learn in two years and people's lives depend on us knowing it ALL BY HEART. Yes, there are the whiners. I'm tired of them too but for some reason they don't seem to whine so much to the happy teacher. We actually asked for her to pin us in December when we graduate because she's our favorite.

[edowhitetop]

These are things we all know, but you did a very good job of putting them all together in one place. Thank you.

[merrywhiterose]

I had a clinical instructor that couldn't stand to have students her age (about 45?) or older. She would put them down and try to fail them. She was definitely age discriminating. Too bad she's still a clinical instructor! Eventually she'll pick on the wrong person and get sued.

[fswilliams1001]

Thanks "Vicky" for this timely submission. It reminds us of the things that matter most to adult learners. As I completed my own instructor evals, I utilized these thoughts in submitting my feedback. Look forward to seeing you soon!

[VickyRN, MSN, DNP, RN]

To get back on track with the topic of your thread, I've said here on the board before that my top desired quality in a professor is that the professor demonstrates and communicates positive expectations for his or her students.

What I mean by this is the professor acts, speaks, and telegraphs an attitude that he or she expects and assumes achievement from students. I love it when I have an instructor who has this attitude/demeanor, etc. Students generally tend to fulfill these expectations. (Of course the opposite is true as well - when an instructor seems to have negative expectations and students meet those expectations in response.)

This is called the self-fulfilling prophecy (or Pygmalion Effect). An individual will often live up to whatever expectations that a parental-type/ authority figure (including teachers or employers) have of the person, whether good or bad.

However, this is not written in stone. People are still able to rise above the negative expectations, and, as adult-learners, should be able to do so. Current adult learning theory places the burden of education on the student, the learner. In other words, adults are ultimately held accountable for their own learning. When all is said and done, adult learners are responsible for the grades they have earned and for their own successes and failures in their program of study. The instructor is the facilitator of the learning process, the "guide on the side," rather than the "sage on the stage."

Despite the prevailing adult learning theory, the "self-fulfilling prophecy" is a captivating phenomenon that shows how complicated and multi-dimensional the learning process can actually be. The teacher's persona, interactions with, and expectations of learners can have tremendous bearings on a student's success or failure.

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

What Teachers Expect They Generally Get (I noticed most of this "self-fulfilling prophecy" research involves pediatric learners. This would make a fascinating research topic for adult learners.)

[VickyRN, MSN, DNP, RN]

But what do you do when you try to encompass those traits and then feel that your not a respected as you want to be? The students seem to want to dictate their opinions about tests and dates for completion and cut you off when speaking. A whole lot of whineing at times. Ohhh this is so much work but you said is what I hear often. Is it that way for all nursing classes? I find that I must slip back into the traditional evil instructor in order to regain control. Each time it bothers me greatly, but I don't want the students to think that they are in control or to have them think that I am going to do their work for them.

Difficult question. It is still possible to encompass these traits, but be firm and set a respectful tone in the class. One way to do this is to address potential problems in the syllabus (for instance, no talking in class while the teacher is lecturing or cell phones turned off; no texting allowed; no disruptive behavior). Our university has a "Disruptive Student Policy" (which I go over in painstaking detail during the first class period). If a student is disrespectful to the instructor, that student can be asked to leave the classroom. All it takes is one instance of asking a student to leave, and the rest of the students will usually fall into line. So, it is possible to be authoritative, and have order and respect, and still exert a positive, caring persona.

If you notice you are having most of your problems during the test review, then change the way you conduct the test review process. One thing that we have tried successfully in our college of nursing, is to post the test with answer keys in prominent places in the classroom (during the test review) and give the students 15-20 minutes to look at the tests in groups before any questions are allowed. Only after this process is completed are students allowed to question specific items on the test, and this is done in an orderly chronological fashion. This has put an end to most of the bickering.

Hope this helps :)

[VickyRN, MSN, DNP, RN]

wow vicki--where were you when i went to nursing school--which I may add I just graudated june 19th--my instructors are nothing like in what you wrote--mine degraded-demoralized--picked--laughted at you--talked about you--Iam amazed I lasted in the program,because there were plenty of times I wanted to quit..Its nice to know there are caring educators in the nursing profession

I'm sorry you had such negative experiences in nursing school. I can assure you, not all instructors are that way. Congratulations on your recent graduation and I wish you great success in the wonderful career of nursing :)