Date of Conferral
2020
Degree
Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)
School
Education
Advisor
Maureen L. Walsh
Abstract
The majority of nurse education occurs in academic settings, but up to 40% can occur in hospital settings. Nurse education programs rely on the staff nurses who work in the hospitals to serve as student nurse educators and fulfill the clinical education requirement of their academic programs. The problem for this study is that staff nurses in their role as student nurse educators often have negative interactions with student nurses that do not promote learning in the clinical setting. The purpose of this qualitative study was to better understand how student nurse educator interactions with student nurses are positively influenced so that research-derived recommendations could be made to enhance student nurse professional development in the clinical setting. Using the community of practice model developed by Wenger as a conceptual framework, a basic qualitative design explored ten staff nurse interactions in their role as student nurse educators. Research questions asked participants to describe the role the members of the nurse education community play in creating positive student nurse educator and student nurse working relationships. Thematic analysis through open coding revealed that while participants acknowledged their responsibilities in the clinical setting, few had undergone hospital based training to mentor student nurses. Participants indicated that an active presence of the clinical instructor and additional demonstrations of student nurse readiness for effective clinical education may enhance learning. My project recommendations include clinical instructor professional development to better prepare clinical instructors to increase their active presence and to increase student nurse preparation for professional interactions in the clinical setting. Improving clinical interactions could increase positive social change by enhancing the quality of nurse education in hospital settings.
Recommended Citation
Nafarrete, Jennifer, "Exploring Staff Nurse Interactions in Their Role as Student Nurse Educators" (2020). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 9784.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/9784
