Senior nursing and midwifery student's viewpoint regarding characteristics of an effective clinical teacher

Nursing is a practical profession; therefore three basic factors of students, teachers and curriculum have a great effect on clinical education. There are no general consensuses among researchers on what characteristics constitute an effective clinical teacher. This study explores the views of third and fourth year nursing and midwifery students with regard to the characteristics of effective clinical teachers. This is a descriptive, cross – sectional study. We conducted the study on105 third and fourth year nursing and midwifery students at Guilan University of Medical Sciences from 2012-2013 using convenience sampling. We collected the data through a self made questionnaire that was developed based on characteristics of an effective clinical teacher from student's view points. The questionnaire had 47 statements in three sections such as professional competency, communication skill and personality domain. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, repeated measurement, Greenhouse, and Bonferroni test (P<0.05). Average age of students was 21.2±1.4 years. 89 (84.8%f) students were female and 68 (64.8%) of them were nursing students. The most important characteristic of effective clinical teachers in the domain of professional competency was clinical skills (5.58±0.69). In communication domain it was respect for students (5.71±0.63). High confidence was in the personality domain (5.68±0.61) as well. Repeated measurement showed significant difference among three characteristic domains of effective clinical teacher. Analysis of Bonferroni test showed a significant difference within the groups and between domains of professional competency and communication skill (P<0.05). According to student's views, all three characteristic domains of effective clinical teachers were necessary, and communication skills were introduced as the most important domain of effective clinical teachers. Consequently, teachers should improve their communication skills.