Characteristics of effective simulated clinical experience instructors: interviews with undergraduate nursing students

Effective clinical nursing instructors are essential for maximizing nursing students' educational experience. Due to a shortage of clinical placement sites and advancements in technology, nursing students are increasingly learning clinical judgment and decision making in the simulated clinical experience (SCE) with human patient simulators. In this environment, SCE instructors help students acquire knowledge and skills in decision making in a controlled, risk-free, hospital-like clinical environment. Using informal student interviews, this study examined nursing student perceptions of the characteristics of an effective instructor in the simulated clinical experience. To capture information about the characteristics of effective SCE instructors, interviews were conducted with students (N = 8) from two universities in Northern California. All participants had experience working with human patient simulators in the simulation laboratory. Students identified six themes for SCE instructors: Personality, Teaching Ability, Evaluation, Nursing Competence, Interpersonal Relationships, and Realism. Further research on the similarities and differences of this new educational environment is recommended.