Analyzing the Teaching Effectiveness of Clinical Nursing Faculty of Full- and Part-Time Generic BSN, LPN-BSN, and RN-BSN Nursing Students

Effective clinical teaching has been a focus for scrutiny across the health-care disciplines. Nursing researchers have investigated students' and faculty members' views of effective clinical teaching. Various students (diploma, ADN, BSN) and their respective faculty have been studied, and some investigators have researched opinions of part-time students. No study was available that analyzed effective clinical teaching from the perspectives of students representing various formats of nursing education (basic BSN, RN-BSN, LPN-BSN students) and whether they were full or part time. The purpose of the study was to examine full- and part-time basic BSN, LPN-BSN, and RN-BSN students' ratings of effective clinical teaching behaviors. A stratified sample (n = 198) of baccalaureate nursing students (basic, LPN-BSN, RN-BSN) who represented both full- and part-time attendees was obtained. Students were informed about the study's purpose and asked to complete a demographic questionnaire and two instruments, by Knox and Mogan [Knox, J. E., & Mogan, J. (1985). Important clinical teaching behaviors as perceived by university nursing faculty, students, and graduates. The Journal of Nursing Education, 10, 295-301] and Zimmerman and Westfall [Zimmerman, L., & Westfall, J. (1988). The development and validation of a scale measuring effective clinical teaching behaviors. The Journal of Nursing Education, 27, 274-277], measuring perceptions of effective clinical teaching. Responses to open-ended questions were recorded on one instrument. Data were analyzed using summary and inferential statistics utilizing SPSS version 12.0. Responses to open-ended questions were thematically analyzed. Findings from the study demonstrated that part-time students rated their clinical instructors statistically significantly higher in effective clinical teaching and associated subscales. Type of student (basic BSN, LPN-BSN, RN-BSN) did not affect students' ratings. Type of program format and type of student did not interact to affect ratings at a statistically significant level. Implications for nursing education, administration, and future research are delineated.