Novice nursing clinical instructors : the lived experience / Tara Vande Griend

Abstract

A constructivist philosophical paradigm and van Manen's phenomenological method were used to understand the lived experience of a purposeful sample of nine novice nursing clinical instructors in the Nursing Education in Southwestern Alberta program in Lethbridge, Alberta. Data were collected using in-depth, semi-structured, open-ended interview questions and were analyzed using van Manen's approach to thematic analysis. The findings revealed how novice nursing clinical nursing instructors experienced this new role; the meaning instructors ascribed to their experience; and how instructors learned about the clinical instructor role. The lived experience of novice nursing clinical instructors was likened to a journey. Three major themes emerged within The Journey: Endeavoring Amid Strife, Enacting Understanding of the Clinical Instructor Role, and Evolving as a Clinical Instructor. Implications included: valuing the lived experience, appreciating struggles, and improving supports and learning resources in the areas of orientation, mentorship, peer support, instructor inclusion in academia, and work-life balance.