Clinicians´ Perceptions of Teaching and Learning – Challenges and Possibilities

Clinical education is a significant part of nursing education on all levels of education. A lot of effort is made by educational providers to prepare the students for their clinical placement (Levett-Jones et al., 2015). At best, this is a shared enterprise, involving representatives from the profession in creating a useful clinical placement for the students. However, the strain on clinical nurses and health care services has led to a decreased communication between faculty and clinical representatives, leaving the universities almost solely responsible for forming clinical education. Some students report problems with clinical supervisors´ and other professionals’ lack of understanding of educational content and principles for teaching and learning. One way of addressing these problems could be to explore the clinicians ´ views as a complement to the views of the students (Levett-Jones and Lathlean, 2009). The purpose of this study was to explore the clinicians´ views on teaching and learning to help teachers in planning of clinical education. A panel of 39 clinicians were invited to share their views on teaching and learning in a specialist nursing programme. Data was collected alongside a study of clinical competence (Wihlborg et al., 2013) using the Delphi method. A wide range of perceptions, covering all aspects of university education, were expressed and transformed into items for grading of importance. The grading of items provided us with challenges as well as possibilities. At the top end all informants agreed on the importance of clear learning outcomes and a research-based curriculum. Among the lowest graded items were distance education and role-play. The interpretation of these perceptions and their importance to the clinicians can be used in the planning of clinical education and have an impact on all aspects of an educational programme. LEVETT-JONES, T. & LATHLEAN, J. 2009. 'Don't rock the boat': Nursing students' experiences of conformity and compliance. Nurse Educ Today, 29, 342-9. LEVETT-JONES, T., PITT, V., COURTNEY-PRATT, H., HARBROW, G. & ROSSITER, R. 2015. What are the primary concerns of nursing students as they prepare for and contemplate their first clinical placement experience? Nurse Educ Pract, 15, 304-9. WIHLBORG, J., EDGREN, G., JOHANSSON, A. & SIVBERG, B. 2013. The desired competence of the Swedish ambulance nurse according to the professionals - A Delphi study. International emergency nursing. Keywords: Clinical education, Curriculum planning, Perceptions of teachin