Clinical practice is a critical stage in the training of professional nurses, and the quality of learning largely depends on clinical instructors. However, instructors can face various obstacles that interfere with the effectiveness of education. Some strategies can help overcome common challenges:
- Time pressures. It is crucial to develop a detailed action plan to help allocate time for work and teaching and consider compensation for the instructor (Brenner et al., 2018).
- Fewer patients. Such circumstances allow instructors to consider and discuss each case with students in more detail.
- Shorter hospital stays. Students can learn educational interventions to teach patients to maintain health after discharge.
- Limited learning opportunities. An instructor can offer students a deeper study of a particular problem, for instance, by conducting research for evidence-based practice (EBP).
- Students’ contrasting needs and abilities. Teaching students requires an individualized approach and creating a work plan for everyone.
During clinical practice, students also develop psychomotor skills, which affect the quality of their future work. The essential psychomotor skills for nurses are finesse and speed. They are necessary for using medical equipment safely for the patient, for example, when installing a catheter. Both skills develop through constant training and repetition of different actions in the clinical setting. Teaching such skills during the patient’s treatment carries risks, so simulations must be used. Cooperation with the Learning Resource Centre (LRC) employees will allow such activity to be conducted in safe conditions using equipment, mannequins, and modeling clinical situations (“Learning,” 2021). As a result of various actions repetitions in training, students will be able to quickly improve their skills and apply them in an actual situation.
References
Brenner, A. M., Beresin, E. V., Coverdale, J. H., Louie, A. K., Balon, R., Guerrero, A. P., & Roberts, L. W. (2018). Time to teach: Addressing the pressure on faculty time for education. Academic Psychiatry, 42(1), 5-10.
Learning resource centre. (2021). The Memorial University of Newfoundland. Web.