The Mechanisms to Attract Nurse's Parthnership in Clinical Education: Perspective of Managers, Nursing Educators, and Staff Nurses

Parthnership in clinical education is a duty for all those involved in providing health care. Nurses’ involvement in clinical education can reduce the gap between theory and practice. This study aimed to identify the mechanisms used by nursing educators to attract staff nurses’ parthnership in the delivery of clinical education. This is a qualitative content analysis study performed in year 2009. Fifteen nursing clinical educators, staff nurses, educational managers, and nurse managers of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences and Tehran University of Medical Sciences participated in this study. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews. Primarily, purposeful sampling was performed and continued using snowballing method and continued until data saturation. All interviews were recorded and subsequently transcribed. The analysis was carried out by qualitative content analysis method. Six themes were discovered through rich and deep descriptions by participants. These include acquiring skillfulness supremacy, being realistic, commitment and responsibility, modesty, using other nurses’ experiences, and assertiveness. Nursing educators use their special approaches to make effective and appropriate personal and professional relationships with clinical nurses and transfer their experiences to the students. These personal mechanisms should be systematically supported through incorporation within organizational programs shared by academic and clinical institutes. This will enhance the efficacy of nursing educators in accomplishing their clinical role.