Clinical Faculty Orientation: Improving Student Outcomes at the Bedside

Sunday, 22 July 2018

Natalya Pasklinsky, MS, ACNP-BC1
Gina Robertiello, MSN, RN, CEN1
Karla G. Rodriguez, DNP, RN, CNE2
(1)Nursing, NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing, New York, NY, USA
(2)College of Nursing, New York University, New York, NY, USA

At NYU Meyers College of Nursing, clinical instructors are required to attend an eight hour orientation day at the start of every semester. The objectives for these sessions are to prepare instructors to lead a successful clinical day, implement QSEN principles into the clinical experience, and focus on faculty management of difficult student/clinical site situations. Video vignettes were created to address these topics and start a discussion amongst new and returning clinical instructors.

PURPOSE

The purpose of creating videos was to engage all faculty in an active discussion about relevant scenarios they may face during on and off campus clinical. The videos demonstrated how to best handle difficult situations with students and clinical staff.

METHODS

By means of role-playing, 6 video vignettes, each 2-5 minutes in length, present common problems that can impact a clinical instructor's ability to be an effective teacher. These vignettes offer guidelines and resources that are available to clinical instructors so that they can quickly respond and make appropriate decisions during uncomfortable and/or unfamiliar circumstances encountered during the clinical day. A moderator asks faculty members to respond to questions after each video is presented and clinical instructors are encouraged to provide information about their own personal experiences. The entire presentation and discussion is one hour and 15 minutes in length. Video presentations address:

  • Organizing a typical clinical day: clinical policies, unit scavenger hunt, pre and post-conference, student assignments, debriefing, and downtime
  • Handling interruptions during medication administration
  • Managing medication administration with an anxious patient
  • Dealing with a difficult student during post-conference
  • Managing a student injury/illness
  • Working effectively with an uncooperative staff nurse

RESULT Faculty members completed a survey that provided feedback about the video vignettes. Comments from the survey results indicated that the vignettes were realistic, relevant, and right on target. Faculty members also pointed out that they learned a lot from the videos as they provided excellent education points about safety and quality that were very helpful. In addition, comments noted that the videos could be very useful for those individuals who are new to teaching. 16.67 % of full-time faculty and 83.33% of part-time faculty took part in this survey. The survey provided a measurement of our intent of the simulation vignettes provided. It helped to obtain feedback from the audience after watching the videos that will broaden knowledge among all faculty members and identify any gaps in learning needs. This is especially useful in that the majority of the teaching faculty for On and Off Campus clinicals who are part-time faculty.

CONCLUSION: Providing clinical instructors with a seamless orientation via video vignettes and role-play allows for proper management and anticipation of student needs in the clinical setting. These videos are now being used by the faculty orientation task force of QSEN for faculty across the world to help prepare for clinical.