Good Clinical Instructor from the Perspective of Nursing Students: A Qualitative Study

  As knowing the characteristics of a good teacher is important, various methods like students' perspectives are used to determine these characteristics. This study aimed to identify the characteristics of a good clinical instructor from the perspective of nursing students. This descriptive qualitative study was conducted using conventional content analysis. In this study, 18 senior nursing students were selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected using a semi-structured interview. Coding and data analysis were performed using MAXQDA 2007. To achieve the reliability and accuracy of the data, the Lincoln and Guba authenticity criteria were used.   After analysis of the recorded interviews, 48 basic codes were obtained. Also, one theme called "professional competence" and six main categories including academic ability, clinical skills, communication skills, evaluation skills, personality, and educational management in the clinical setting were considered as characteristics of a good clinical instructor based on the participants’ perspectives. The results of this study identified the characteristics of a good clinical instructor from the perspective of nursing students, which can help the authorities in successful and efficient educational planning