Competence of clinical teachers: A survey on perception of masters of nursing specialist postgraduates, their clinical teachers, and head nurses

OBJECTIVES: To explore the current admittance situation of clinical teachers for masters of nursing specialist (MNS) postgraduates and to test the competence of clinical teachers in self-evaluation and other evaluations. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, using a random number table, we chose 80 MNS postgraduates under clinical practice, their clinical teachers, and head nurses each from six hospitals in Hunan and Guangdong. The participants were tested on the basis of the Clinical Teachers' Competence Inventory of MNS Postgraduates. The competences of clinical teachers were evaluated by the three groups of participants. RESULTS: The aggregated scores of teacher competence as evaluated by the MNS postgraduates (181.33 ± 24.95) were lower than those assigned by both clinical teachers (190.75 ± 24.30) and their head nurses (198.53 ± 18.90), with significant differences in all dimensions except for clinical managing ability. The five highest rated items from all participants focused on the teachers' clinical nursing ability, and the five lowest rated items were mainly about their clinical research ability. CONCLUSION: The evaluation from MNS postgraduates is obviously lower than the self-evaluation of clinical teachers, and all participants are aware of the deficiency in research ability of the teachers. Thus, the admittance and examination of clinical teachers should be controlled strictly. Training should be carried out immediately to strengthen their comprehensive abilities, especially their research ability.