CLINICAL TEACHING ROLE EXPERIENCE OF NURSES AT HOSPITALS OF SOUTHERN CHILE

Abstract

The clinical teacher of nursing is an essential part in the educational process of nursing students. The objective of this study was to describe the experience in clinical teaching of nurses at public hospitals from the South of Chile. Materials and methods: This is a qualitative, descriptive study, based on principles from the constructivist theory. The study's population consisted of 22 nurses. Semi-structured interviews were applied. Results: It was found that the experience of the clinical teaching role is assumed as a process whose core idea is professional responsibility. The findings reaffirm positive feelings such as the reinforcement of self-concept and the idea of transcendence through others. Furthermore, frustration appears as a negative feeling and the undervaluing of teaching as an obstructive component in the process. Finally, lack of time is also mentioned as an obstacle, for that reason it is necessary to consider assigning time for teaching as part of their usual activities in order to improve the quality of clinical teaching. Conclusion: the evaluation of the clinical teaching role is mainly linked to recognition, assignment of time and space for appropriate and quality teaching. This teacher's role is critical in praxis coming from clinical experiences, especially in the final period of training; therefore, understanding the universe of experiences of nurses in training process should be a permanent concern of educational institutions, in order to develop strategies to improve the different teaching-learning scenarios and the quality of higher education in these matters.