Any Suggestions for a 1st time Clinical Instructor???

Specialties Educators

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I am interviewing for a temporary position as a Clinical Instructor. It will be 4 weekends spread out with two in Feb, one in March, and the last in April. I have not taught formerly at a college or as a clinical instructor before.

I am comfortable with students and am familiar with the floor I will be working at with the students. The only experience I can draw from, for the 5 students, is what I remember from my ADN and BSN experiences several years ago.

I would very much appreciate any suggestions I can do to prepare myself for this task. We will be doing 3 / 12s which seems like a lot. The students will be senior students taking their elective clinicals. Again, I have 5 students which seem like a lot (hmmmm... 5 students = 5 patients = 5 families etc).

I do remember my instructor prepping us a lot when we first started in our ADN program; we would also take a longer break to discuss our patients and make it more a group experience. I also remember, ugh... the chart checks and care plans we researched and worked on the night before....

I am just filling out paperwork now and will not meet the students until the morning of the 1st clinicals.

Please help and offer any suggestion, tips, or preparation I can do to make the experience a good one for the students.

Thank you in advance,

night :)

Being only new to the Clinical Educators role - something simple and sweet....

Practice - don't just preach...... The students will have theory running out their ears - their time on the wards is an opportunity to pt some of that theory into practice & if they can see you model the practice and then guide them as they practice you and they will form a great bond.

Good luck and have fun....

Specializes in Med Surg/Tele/ER.
I am interviewing for a temporary position as a Clinical Instructor. It will be 4 weekends spread out with two in Feb, one in March, and the last in April. I have not taught formerly at a college or as a clinical instructor before.

I am comfortable with students and am familiar with the floor I will be working at with the students. The only experience I can draw from, for the 5 students, is what I remember from my ADN and BSN experiences several years ago.

I would very much appreciate any suggestions I can do to prepare myself for this task. We will be doing 3 / 12s which seems like a lot. The students will be senior students taking their elective clinicals. Again, I have 5 students which seem like a lot (hmmmm... 5 students = 5 patients = 5 families etc).

I do remember my instructor prepping us a lot when we first started in our ADN program; we would also take a longer break to discuss our patients and make it more a group experience. I also remember, ugh... the chart checks and care plans we researched and worked on the night before....

I am just filling out paperwork now and will not meet the students until the morning of the 1st clinicals.

Please help and offer any suggestion, tips, or preparation I can do to make the experience a good one for the students.

Thank you in advance,

night :)

I am a second semester nsg student so this is all fresh to me. I loved my 1st clinical instructor because, she was down to earth & did not try to intimidate students. She taught, taught, & taught some more. I was constantly challenged & made to think.She always had us to talk through a procedure, she would then correct or ok it. If there was a chance to do something we were checked off on she made sure we got to do it. One student did while the others observed & she was right there beside you the entire time & we then had a discussion about the procedure. I think what I really liked was that she made us feel relaxed and we knew we had her full support. She expected alot & gave alot she was great. I think since you have taken the time to ask for feedback you will also be an excellent instructor just remember no one was born knowing it all. Good Luck & God Bless :)

Great suggestions colleagues.... thank you. I am pretty excited about this oppourtunity. I found out, the lecture instructor will come and help for the first couple of days... that is a relief.

I agree, if I set the format for learning in a positive and nurturing environment, it will be a positive experience for the students.

Thank you to all who have posted. I will let you know how it evolves.

Just wanted to let you know that I am in the same boat that you are. I am teaching Junior Clinicals this semester for the first time ever. I am enjoying it alot, but the students are very challenging at times. It can get very tiring, but as cheesy as it is to admit, what keep me going is that I LOVE my job and I LOVE teaching them. I like it when they get it, when they finally put together the Patho on the condition and understand why we learn these things.

Anyways, if you would ever like to chat, I would love to chat with you :)

Emma

Specializes in Pediatrics.

i'm interviewing for a clinical instructor position this week. these posts are very helpful, and have given me some more perspective as to what i amy be getting into. i'm a nuring ed. student, and i really find this particular forum to be very informative. there are no heated arguments, and bashing here. usually very professional and objective responses. just wanted to say that. :)

nightgale- let us now how it's going. can't wait to hear about your first clinical!!

i'm interviewing for a clinical instructor position this week. these posts are very helpful, and have given me some more perspective as to what i amy be getting into. i'm a nuring ed. student, and i really find this particular forum to be very informative. there are no heated arguments, and bashing here. usually very professional and objective responses. just wanted to say that. :)

nightgale- let us now how it's going. can't wait to hear about your first clinical!!

congrats to you all. i am in the same boat also. i just got promoted from an ed staff nurse to staff development at the hospital i work at :) . part of my new position is to be clinical instructor for a group of adn students. this is my first opportunity to be a clinical instructor. i have been a nurse for two years with my experience being in emergency nursing. i will instructing these students on a med/surg floor that deals mostly with oncology patients. i am very nervous. i start monday (4/4/05). thank you to all of you for the great ideas and advice, i am sure i will need it. would like to hear how everyone's experience turns out. i guess we are truly shaping the future of nursing!

hi,

the suggestions here are great and very much with what i have done over the last 20 odd years. i would add:

1. praise in public, scold in private.

2. have an interruption phrase. i have always told my students that if i was supervising them doing a skill and i said to them i'll take over now, they were to step back and let me. this meant that they were compromising patient care in some way. when i had finished, i would take them aside somewhere private and discuss it with them.

3. document everything

4. have the students keep a small address book with them, when they find a med about which they have limited or no knowledge, they can put that in the book, look it up & add it in the book. that way they can keep an up to date knowledge base.

5. get the students to do a daily planner - so it helps with their time management - use it with them.

6. if you have a "weak student", try and get them allocated the same patient(s) on consecutive shifts, it allows you to assess them more easily and it helps (hopefully) boosts their confidence & competence

7. tell the students that you will always go into to bat for them. but that also means being scrupulously honest in any situation that arises.

8. have fun with your students as well as being their teacher. learning can be difficult but it should always be fun as well.

9. always remember the students' vulnerability. they will watch every nuance of your behaviour, and will read into it their own interpretation - often to their own detriment.

10. always tell the students if you don't know the answer but that you will investigate it to find out. you aren't the font of all knowledge and making up an answer to save face doesn't facilitate good learning. be a good role model.

11. always tell your students that there is no such thing as a stupid question.

12. finally, put people up not down.

being a clinical teacher is the most frustrating and rewarding position in nursing education. i love it.

aellyssa

Specializes in CCU (Coronary Care); Clinical Research.

As a staff RN that precepts students/new grads and not being too far out of school myself, one thing that I have consistently heard is that they wish that their clinical instructor is more in tune with current practice/working the floor unit...not to say that one person should have to know all the ins/outs of each floor/specialty but I have seen/heard of those that have been teaching for so long (and are good teachers) that they forget some of the stuff that comes up while working on the floor/unit. My suggestion would be to keep your practice current by working at least one shift every couple of weeks or so if possible (I know, easier said than done...), just to keep in the loop...

Specializes in CCU (Coronary Care); Clinical Research.
hi,

the suggestions here are great and very much with what i have done over the last 20 odd years. i would add:

1. praise in public, scold in private.

2. have an interruption phrase. i have always told my students that if i was supervising them doing a skill and i said to them i'll take over now, they were to step back and let me. this meant that they were compromising patient care in some way. when i had finished, i would take them aside somewhere private and discuss it with them.

3. document everything

4. have the students keep a small address book with them, when they find a med about which they have limited or no knowledge, they can put that in the book, look it up & add it in the book. that way they can keep an up to date knowledge base.

5. get the students to do a daily planner - so it helps with their time management - use it with them.

6. if you have a "weak student", try and get them allocated the same patient(s) on consecutive shifts, it allows you to assess them more easily and it helps (hopefully) boosts their confidence & competence

7. tell the students that you will always go into to bat for them. but that also means being scrupulously honest in any situation that arises.

8. have fun with your students as well as being their teacher. learning can be difficult but it should always be fun as well.

9. always remember the students' vulnerability. they will watch every nuance of your behaviour, and will read into it their own interpretation - often to their own detriment.

10. always tell the students if you don't know the answer but that you will investigate it to find out. you aren't the font of all knowledge and making up an answer to save face doesn't facilitate good learning. be a good role model.

11. always tell your students that there is no such thing as a stupid question.

12. finally, put people up not down.

being a clinical teacher is the most frustrating and rewarding position in nursing education. i love it.

aellyssa

i think that these are fantastic suggestions...

One thing that I found extremely helpful during clinicals was during the last weeks we took turns being in "charge". This meant that we had to review the charts of the patients that the students had and coordinate all the preps, procedures, labs, appts. etc. This was extremely challenging trying to keep track of all the things going on and to make sure that they were carried out. It gave me a sense of all the things a "charge" is responsible for and expected to do. It also meant learning some tactful ways to encourage your fellow students to do what needed to be done. Of course, the clinical instructor was the person I reported to and let know how things were going, but it still was a very educational experience for a student. Good luck to all the instructors out there, you have a difficult job at times, but it can also be very rewarding I'm sure.;)

Specializes in Pediatrics.
hi,

the suggestions here are great and very much with what i have done over the last 20 odd years. i would add:

1. praise in public, scold in private.

2. have an interruption phrase. i have always told my students that if i was supervising them doing a skill and i said to them i'll take over now, they were to step back and let me. this meant that they were compromising patient care in some way. when i had finished, i would take them aside somewhere private and discuss it with them.

3. document everything

4. have the students keep a small address book with them, when they find a med about which they have limited or no knowledge, they can put that in the book, look it up & add it in the book. that way they can keep an up to date knowledge base.

5. get the students to do a daily planner - so it helps with their time management - use it with them.

6. if you have a "weak student", try and get them allocated the same patient(s) on consecutive shifts, it allows you to assess them more easily and it helps (hopefully) boosts their confidence & competence

7. tell the students that you will always go into to bat for them. but that also means being scrupulously honest in any situation that arises.

8. have fun with your students as well as being their teacher. learning can be difficult but it should always be fun as well.

9. always remember the students' vulnerability. they will watch every nuance of your behaviour, and will read into it their own interpretation - often to their own detriment.

10. always tell the students if you don't know the answer but that you will investigate it to find out. you aren't the font of all knowledge and making up an answer to save face doesn't facilitate good learning. be a good role model.

11. always tell your students that there is no such thing as a stupid question.

12. finally, put people up not down.

excellent tips. having just completed my 3rd day as an instructor (with a preceptor), i can see how every one of these are true.

now, my question to you (or anyone) is this: i am truly amazed at how slow students do things. i am dealing with 2nd semester freshmen (adn). i know, they know very little at this point, and are still very nervous. but how on earth do i motivate them to move a little faster? i only had half the group, and i feel like it took me forever to get meds done. i don't want to rush them, but i feel the transition from one patient to a whole district (when they graduate in a year) will be almost impossible.

Specializes in Pediatrics.
one thing that i found extremely helpful during clinicals was during the last weeks we took turns being in "charge". this meant that we had to review the charts of the patients that the students had and coordinate all the preps, procedures, labs, appts. etc. this was extremely challenging trying to keep track of all the things going on and to make sure that they were carried out. it gave me a sense of all the things a "charge" is responsible for and expected to do. it also meant learning some tactful ways to encourage your fellow students to do what needed to be done. of course, the clinical instructor was the person i reported to and let know how things were going, but it still was a very educational experience for a student.

our program has that, with a senior student coming to the freshman class as a resource. it seems to work pretty well. the senior acts sort of as charge- fields questions, assists students with transfers, specimen collection, finding things (which can take up a lot of time). she informs the student if a new order was written. i think it gives the charge student a good idea of what they are in for as a staff nurse (managing 8-10 pts), without actually taking them all.

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