Ok, first off, I want to say that I have had more good clinical instructors than bad. I've had some amazing clinical instruction at my nursing school, and I'm grateful for it.
But I've now had two CI's who were absolutely terrible. Inconsistent with their expectations, unclear about their expectations, inappropriate conversations with students (both in front of patients and in front of other students), disorganization, and conflicts with staff nurses (including one who went head to head with the charge and then discussed it with us in post-conference).
I'm not whining because they were tough. I respect a tough instructor, and feel challenged to meet and exceed their expectations. All in all, these people were not tough, they were just bad.
Is there THAT much of a need for CI's that they apparently take anyone who'll do it? Is there usually any training for HOW to be a CI, or are they thrown out there on their own like adjuncts at a community college to sink or swim on their own? Is the pay dismal? I'm just trying to figure out why the bad ones are in it in the first place, and why they continue to be tolerated by the nursing schools.
Both of these instructors have had semester after semester of bad reviews from their students (and granted this is hearsay from the students themselves, but the surveys/reviews are anonymous so I believe they said what they tell me they said).
I have absolutely zero temperament for teaching, but my experiences have made me think that someday when I have enough experience and the requisite degrees, perhaps I should become a CI or other faculty and try and influence how CI's are recruited, paid, trained, and evaluated. Nursing school is hard enough, students should be given the best instruction available.
