Learning to educate: A basic qualitative study of the experiences of training from professional nurses

Abstract

The basic qualitative research design allowed for the discovery of how professional nurse participants interpret their experiences about learning how to educate students in the clinical setting. The population studied were professional nurses who teach students in the clinical setting in a Southwestern state. Research findings indicated the experiences regarding their preparation to instruct students in the clinical learning environment were significantly lacking. Professional nurses may be considered experts in the application of patient care; however, they continue to lack formal training preparing them to educate nursing students. The experiences of professional nurses indicated little communication occurs between them and nursing schools about the critical role they play in the education of students, the necessity of teaching the nursing students to practice safely, the implementation of theory into clinical practice, and how to meet the learning needs of students during their experiential learning experience.