Clinical stress among undergraduate nursing students: perceptions of clinical nursing faculty

Clinical faculty have a critical role in recognizing the stress students experience in the clinical environment. Despite an increasing body of research on stress and student perceptions of stress, faculty perceptions of student stress have been relatively unexplored. A qualitative descriptive design provided a rich description of clinical nursing faculty perceptions of undergraduate baccalaureate nursing student stress in the clinical environment. Colaizzi's method guided data analysis. Four themes that emerged from the interview data were: feeling overwhelmed when encountering the unknown, which included the sub-themes of facing self-doubt and experiencing insecurity in nursing actions; struggling with personal life factors; enduring uncivil clinical interactions; and contending with nursing faculty interactions. This study assists in filling the gap for nursing education by providing a rich description of student stress as described by faculty. Implications include providing faculty a clearer understanding of the stress phenomenon so they may better educate and evaluate students.

Enhancing quality and safety in clinical teaching: Statewide live continuing education program for adjunct clinical nursing faculty

The nursing faculty shortage is being filled by adjunct clinical faculty with no classroom teaching experience. These novice faculty members must undergo a socialization and orientation process (onboarding), when transitioning into the academic environment. To support orientation, the Live Continuing Education Program for Adjunct Clinical Nursing Faculty (LCEP-ACNF), a competency-based 4.0-hour continuing education unit program for novice clinical faculty was used. In this study, the LCEP-ACNF was tested in a statewide sample of clinical faculty. For this mixed-methods study a convenience sample of faculty members (N = 312) from all nursing programs in one northeast state was recruited. All 312 participants completed pretest competency-based evaluation and a demographics sheet. Participants’ (N = 312; n = 162) posttest scores were significantly higher than their pretest scores (Z = 11.10, p < .01). Eight interviews were conducted and the themes emerged were, communication with other faculty members on clinical teaching, orientation strategies, student evaluation and feedback strategies, and mentorship issues for novice clinical faculty. Evaluation results for the LCEP-ACNF were overall positive, including the need for more continuing education offerings, mentorship, and teaching strategies. The results suggest an increased need for clinical faculty development and orientation, a need for developing the clinical coordinator role and mentorship for all novice clinical faculty. Lastly, the LCEP-ACNF should be offered twice a year, regionally and nationally.