Research in Medical Education

  Introduction: Clinical education is a complicated process and its aim is to make measurable behavioral changes in nursing students’ clinical skills. It depends on suitable learning environment. Clinical educations take more than 50% of nursing curriculum and perform in clinical settings. It plays major role in nursing students’ values, habits and occupational concepts. Some of the experts consider the clinical teaching as one of the most important aspects of nursing education. There are important factors in clinical education which make it more difficult and different from theoretical teaching. One of the major factors in clinical education is the role of nursing staff in teaching hospitals. According to Bandore’s social learning principles, which emphasize on observation and role modeling, clinical nursing staff, are agents for learning the clinical skills. Nursing students always observe clinical nursing staff as role model and learn their occupational role from them. This kind of learning, not only affect clinical skills, but also influence on the occupational ethics, nurses' interaction in team work and valuing.

  Methods: This study was a descriptive survey. Its aim was to identify the role of nursing clinical staff in nursing student’s clinical learning, with using social learning. Sampling method was census and 150 students of third and fourth year nursing students of Shahid Beheshti school of Nursing and Midwifery participated. Data collection instrument was consisted of demographic questionnaire and questions about role of clinical nursing staff in clinical education of nursing students. This research includes 4 aspects valuing the students, encouraging the team work, establishing occupational ethics and staff nurses as source of learning. The questionnaires completed by nursing students. This research takes place in the teaching hospitals of Guilan University of medical sciences, where nursing students spent their clinical training in them.

  Results: Findings indicated that majority of nursing students were agree with the role of nursing staff roles in valuing student (65.2 %), encouraging team work (61.7 %) establishing occupational ethics (47.8 %) and being source of learning (54 %).

  Conclusion: Nursing staffs play an important role in clinical education of nursing students, particularly in 4 aspects of, valuing the students, encouraging team work, induction of occupational ethics and source of learning. The clinical learning of nursing students will be improved by educating of staff nurses in subjects of knowledge, skills and ethics.