Introduction
Clinical teaching has a different share of a challenge to its educators compared to normal classroom teaching. The main difference is that in clinical teaching, there is a lot to be put into practice at every stage of development. Moreover, there are completely varying approaches in clinical teaching. They are not the same as normal classroom teaching (Gardner & Suplee 2010). One factor about clinical teaching is that it is very complex partly due to the dynamic nature of the profession. There are emerging challenges on a daily basis that requires educators to update themselves with the changing circumstances. Clinical educators are required to be as dynamic as the health sector is. This calls for more dynamism in the process of teaching student nursing.
The process of clinical teaching requires a thorough system of planning, assessing as well as giving guidance to the entire process of learning. It is therefore recommended that clinical teaching be approached from a sober state of mind if any delivery will be possible.
The application of preceptors will assist a lot in providing information to the unskilled nursing staff that is equally required to deliver their services to a hospital just like the experienced lot. Mashaba (1994) gives another alternative to the nursing needs as far as clinical teaching is concerned. A health unit will often provide the basic facilities which will be able to meet the orienteer’s needs on a daily basis. For this to happen, the right preceptors are needed and be put into use. This is a very critical development due to the role played by preceptors in ensuring the smooth running of nursing roles in a hospital. A suitable and well-managed program for a preceptor is important because the knowledge on preceptorship can be used time and again. There are several elements of a preceptor which if followed will yield the best results required. To begin with, the ability to mold skills is important in addition to allowing different social groups to mingle. Additionally, any preceptorship program should involve a logical critical thinking procedure that will help it succeed. In addition, a preceptor program should be able to manage any given program more coherently so that some order prevails. The process of managing a task or an assignment includes how each task is prioritized and planned (Rideout 2001). Also included in this category is the ability to delegate different roles to diverse groups or individuals so that a particular task can be accomplished within the shortest time possible.
According to Emerson (2007), a formal preceptor harnessing program is needed in any hospital it which is likely to hire novice nurses at one time or the other. If a thorough preceptor program is put in place, it will help in the process of orientation. This will be necessary because any hospital requires qualified nursing staff that can only be molded through a comprehensive preceptor program. However, one of the impediments to the learning process during the preceptorship period is the quantity of information that has to be assimilated and understood within a limited period. This impeding factor then calls for the need of those providing education to the novice nurses to specific to necessary information only and which can be understood by the recipient. There are cases when educators may be tempted to give too much information at the expense of those who are being oriented (White & Nelson 1991). Therefore, educators should provide a specific syllabus to follow to avoid going overboard. Besides, all the materials relayed to the recipient should be as pragmatic as possible. Less theoretical work should be used because a typical hospital environment is virtually full of practical activities. If the preceptorship program is facilitated well, it may as well be used for future programs which require orientation.
Bringing different social groups together through a team-building session is an important practice in preceptorship. Gardner and Suplee (2010) argue that changing of nursing staff leading to high turnover in health centers is a bad practice which eventually burdens the more experienced staff members who have to shoulder the responsibilities of the junior staff. This is usually caused by a lack of or inadequate socialization programs which can effectively cater to the emotional needs of employees. Consequently, a preceptor learning session should begin with open sociable sessions which welcome the new employees and makes them feel part of the group. Achieving this may not be easy especially if the educator has not familiarized himself with the kind of audiences being taught. It is imperative to understand the needs of those being oriented.
Models of preceptorship and clinical facilitation
It is the responsibility of hospitals to provide the necessary preceptors which are essential for use in many clinical cases. Some special well-mediated programs are necessary for the preparation of preceptors which are essential in the orientation process at a clinical setup. In this regard, it is important to ensure that basic skills are instituted in place to enhance the process of clinical orientation. Skills such as team building, the ability to socialize, and managing challenging assignments are indeed critical in the whole process of orientation. Training sessions that rely on preceptor packages should be well structured to ensure that they capture the adult learning needs.
It is a common experience to see that hospitals recruit graduate nurses into a full-time working hospital environment when they have not had sufficient experience regarding their nursing role. Similarly, there are those nurses who have been in the profession but have not been working for quite a considerable length of time. Such groups might find it quite challenging to cope with a hospital environment that requires a professional who has been practicing regularly. It is important to note the orientation process in today’s nursing environment is often characterized by short sessions which are not adequate to set the new graduates on their feet. As a result, there seems to be a high rate of nursing turnout since most of them find it difficult to cope with a demanding environment. The senior and well-experienced nurses who are then left having to struggle with the large volumes of work stretching their working hours even further. The longer working hours by the senior and more experienced nurses may lead to low morale and a lack of self-motivation. Similarly, the orientation process which is regularly carried out on the nurses may wear out those who are carrying out the orientation process.
Therefore, the use of preceptors allows real-time information availability to novice nurses who require to be updated from time to time on the performance of different roe at the hospital. It is equally the duty of the hospitals to avail preceptors who will be able to meet the orienteer’s needs on a daily basis. In achieving this, preceptors have to be carefully chosen and be put into training (Rideout 2001). This is a very critical development due to the role played by preceptors in ensuring the smooth running of nursing roles in a hospital. The best preparation program for a preceptor creates a continuous flow of preceptorship knowledge which can be transferred from one team to the other. There are several elements of a preceptor which if followed will yield the best results required. To begin with, the ability to mold skills is important in addition to allowing different social groups to mingle. Moreover4, any preceptorship program should involve a logical critical thinking procedure that will help it succeed. In addition, a preceptor program should be able to manage any given program more coherently so that some order prevails (Baltimore 2004). The process of managing a task or an assignment includes how each individual task is prioritized and planned. Also included in this category is the ability to delegate different roles to diverse groups or individuals so that a particular task can be accomplished within the shortest time possible.
An official preceptor preparation program is essential in any nursing unit which is likely to hire novice nurses at one time or the other. If a thorough preceptor program is put in place, it will help in the process of orientation. This will be necessary because any hospital requires qualified nursing staff that can only be molded through a comprehensive preceptor program. However, one of the impediments to the learning process during the preceptorship period is the quantity of information that has to be assimilated and understood within a limited time period. This impeding factor then calls for the need of those providing education to the novice nurses to specific to necessary information only and which can be understood by the recipient. There are cases when educators may be tempted to give too much information at the expense of those who are being oriented (White & Nelson 1991). Therefore, educators should provide a specific syllabus to follow to avoid going overboard. Besides, all the materials relayed to the recipient should be as pragmatic as possible. Less theoretical work should be used because a typical hospital environment is virtually full of practical activities. If the preceptorship program is facilitated well, it may as well be used for future programs which require orientation.
Socialization as an element in preceptorship is very important. In fact, one of the reasons for extremely high turnovers in any other organization is when employees feel that they are not part of the group. This is usually caused by a lack of or inadequate socialization programs which can effectively cater to the emotional needs of employees. As a result, a preceptor training course should tart with open sociable sessions which welcomes the new employees and makes them feel part of the group. Achieving this may not be easy especially if the educator has not familiarized himself with the kind of audiences being taught. It is imperative to understand the needs of those being oriented.
Culturally sensitive practice for nursing and midwifery
To deliver the best in the nursing profession, there is a need to underscore the importance of understating the emotions ns of patients. Indeed, the caring process of midwifery and how successful such undertakings usually depends on how the serving has understood and evaluated the emotional labor of the patient (Gaberson & Oermann 2007). However, there is a lot that needs to be done to address the emotional aspect of delivering healthcare to patients. A case example is the midwives who usually work tirelessly hard with the emotions of the patient until a particular procedure is complicated (O’Connor 2006). There is often a clear misunderstanding whenever emotions are mentioned even in a clinical setup. It is often reduced to the bare reasoning that it is associated with women a household setup. Emotional labor has been made use of in the critical study of nursing which deals with students. However, student nursing has not been exhaustive regarding the study of emotional labor and further research has been proposed in this area.
Planning, developing, and implementing a program for clinical teaching
An office-based preceptor faces a myriad of problems in the dynamic nursing profession today (Mashaba1994). The ability to teach psychomotor competencies in a more coherent manner is still a dominating challenge in clinical teaching. There are quite a number of skills that have been embraced in the delivery of clinical teaching and have proved to be very effective. These procedures mainly target the ability to use psychomotor skills (Paulman 2001).
The first step in delivering the best teaching skills in nursing is to start by conceptualizing ideas. The main reason for getting the concept right from the beginning is to make sure that the learner is capable of establishing why that particular clinical application is being performed (Emerson 2007). Moreover, conceptualization will give direction on what to be done and what should not be done. This preliminary procedure also ensures that the educator is capable of explaining the reasons why certain parameters are done while others are not. Alongside these elements is the precaution to be taken. It is upon the learner to identify some of the tools which have been used in the delivery process (Lynch, Hancox, Happell & Parker 2008).
Another development plan for effective clinical teaching is the ability to create mental pictures with the aim of vividly analyzing the teaching experience from the concepts built earlier. This is referred to as visualization. The learner should also be able to create a logical flow of events in the mind regarding the teaching plan to be used. Visualization should also be able to set goals and specific objectives which will be followed throughout the teaching session.
Also included in the clinical teaching plan is the ability to narrate more effectively before engaging in the demonstration exercise. This will help the learner to understand all the underlying details in the learning process. Further, the skills obtained from the above learning process can be used to perform a particular narration beginning from the simplest plans to more complicated linkages.
In the course of learning, there is a need for regular corrections and teaching so as to improve performance (Billings & Halstead 2005). When this has been achieved, the ability to master the learned skill more coherently is required. A thorough mastery of the skill will ensure that minimal error happens in the curse of the clinical teaching and learning process. Eventually, the ability to do the same exercise without making any significant errors is the hallmark of the learning process.
To execute a workable preceptor program, there is a need for constant cooperation between the nursing fraternity and other key stakeholders in the nursing g profession. This may include the nursing faculty and the rest of the hospital employees who are directly affected by the role nursing g role in the healthcare unit (Billings & Halstead 2005).
For a long period, it is the registered nurses who have been playing a major role in the well-being of the strategy. They have made the program have a broad network from which nursing students can stem their studies. Those who graduate from specially approved schools can still join this fraternity by taking yet another training to approve their suitability. Meanwhile, there are teaching strategies which be used alongside the preceptors to deliver the best results (Lynch, Hancox, Happell & Parker 2008). To make sure that the learning process does not go to waste, a variety of interactive approaches can be used to deliver the content to the intended audience in a more holistic way. An interactive te4achin g strategy will make sure that the learner remains attentive throughout the learning session.
To achieve viable and workable preceptor programs, interactive teaching procedures can be sustained throughout the program. One of the key elements during an interactive teaching session is the use of name tents. As the delivery of the lesson continues during a preceptor program, several delivery methods can be utilized. However, the individual concerns of each learner are supposed to be put into consideration. One way of doing this is by having thorough documentation of the learning requirements of each learner in the preceptor program.
On the other hand, critical thinking plays a very important role in the preceptor program. The nursing fraternity is often engaged in situations that demand a high level of thinking and the ability to work out challenges within a limited period. If patients are to respond well in a clinical setup, then it is the role of the nurse to oversee any urgency required and offer drastic solutions as soon as it is possible (Rideout 2001). For this reason, the nursing profession requires critical thinking to be part and parcel of its operation. In most cases, patients do require the decision-making ability of nurses to save their lives. This nature of the nursing profession calls for those nursing professionals who can not only act to rising challenges but also think on a critical basis. Critical thinking is considered to be one of the most important preceptor components that cannot be ignored.
On a similar note, the preceptor of skill building is equally an important prerequisite in the process of clinical teaching. In achieving the best skill-building ability, the theory behind psychomotor development comes into play. The psychomotor skills can be initiated to work through introducing some of the necessary preceptors which are crucial in the skill-building ability (White & Nelson 1991). Alongside this requirement is the ability to appropriately adjust their teaching skills to suit the needs of each learner. In so doing, clinical teaching should be able to identify areas of weaknesses or strengths and also propose some ways of improving on areas where there is gross inability.
Reference List
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