Deck 15: Interpersonal Issues in Clinical Nursing Education

Question 1

The clinical nursing instructor's role requires that she interact with students as a teacher, supervisor, evaluator, and professional nurse while maintaining control of the learning experience. To accomplish this the instructor must

A) compartmentalize the various roles she must take in order to focus on what she is doing at a given point in time
B) shift among the instructional roles of preceptor, collaborator, safety officer, and professional role model
C) maintain the boundary between instructor and student while taking steps to communicate caring and instill trust
D) adopt behaviors that seem to fit with her role as a clinical nursing instructor
E) accept a patient care assignment in order to demonstrate her expertise as a professional nurse

Answer 1

C
maintain the boundary between instructor and student while taking steps to communicate caring and instill trust. The instructor will need to shift among the various components of her role, often displaying more than one aspect of that role. Option b. does not fully describe the instructional role nor does it provide guidance on how the instructor might maintain control of the learning experience. The instructor must immerse herself in the role of instructor while remaining authentic; adopting behaviors that may or may not fit the role will distance her from the students she is teaching. While the clinical instructor should serve as a role model of professional nursing, accepting a patient care assignment necessarily interferes with her work as instructor.

Question 2

In her role as supervisor of student learning the clinical nursing instructor should

A) alert students to her role as safety officer to assure them that she recognizes that errors occur while learning
B) conduct discipline immediately upon her recognition of a problem in order to ensure patient safety
C) avoid alarming the student and patient when monitoring student activities by remaining outside the room
D) recruit staff members to keep an eye on students and report problems to her when they occur
E) both a and c

Answer 2

A
alert students to her role as safety officer to assure them that she recognizes that errors occur while learning. Discipline should occur away from the bedside as well as away from staff and other students in order to preserve the student's dignity and avoid alarming the patient. Lurking outside the patient's room when monitoring student activities creates a sense of distrust and apprehension in students. While the instructor must remain open to staff communications regarding student performance, she cannot abdicate her instructional role by passing this responsibility on to staff.

Question 3

The clinical nursing instructor must set goals for each clinical experience. These goals include

A) course objectives for the experience
B) expectations for individual student performance
C) expectations for patient care, such as safety
D) outcomes to be achieved for individual patients
E) all of these

Answer 3

E
all of these.

Question 4

When providing corrective feedback to a student concerning her performance of a technical skill, the clinical nursing instructor should be certain to

A) avoid praising the student for a less than perfect performance to avoid error fixation
B) describe the incorrect behavior, why it is incorrect, and how it can be corrected
C) focus on the student's behavior and its actual or potential effects
D) point out aspects of the performance that were satisfactory in addition to those that were unsatisfactory
E) all but a

Question 5

The clinical nursing instructor must remain alert to signs that may indicate a potential problem with a student's safe performance in the clinical area. These signs include

A) the student's progress in the clinical area is slower than that of other students
B) the student cannot recognize gaps in the care she has provided and does not recognize errors when these occur
C) the student constantly requests help and guidance from the instructor, staff, and other students
D) all of these
E) both a and b

Question 6

The clinical nursing instructor can demonstrate that she cares about the students she is teaching in several ways. Some examples of caring behavior include

A) recognizing a student's need for assistance whether or not the student asks for help and providing this assistance
B) maintain a superior position to students so they can be confident that someone is in charge
C) reviewing theoretical content presented in class and connecting this to the clinical situation
D) remaining in the background while observing a student's performance so as not to interfere with the student-patient relationship
E) both a and c

Question 7

You are the clinical nursing instructor for a group of students in their first clinical rotation. One of the students exhibit a higher than usual level of stress. To address this situation you

A) insist that the student to focus on the patient's needs and desired outcomes of care
B) encourage the student to reconceptualize the stress by identifying the source of her anxiety
C) distract the student by quizzing her on the actions and side effects of the medications she is administering
D) encourage the student to intellectualize the situation by reviewing the applicable physiological principles involved in the patient's condition
E) remain with the student as she performs care activities

Question 8

Students can be guided to use one or more psychological defense mechanisms to cope with such difficult situations as a disfiguring wound, a patient's sexuality, and the dying patient. Among these defense mechanisms is

A) sympathy
B) boundary diffusion
C) anticipatory guidance
D) empathy
E) pragmatism

Question 9

To maintain positive relationships with clinical staff the clinical nursing instructor should

A) alert staff to any problems that occur with respect to students' care for patients on the unit
B) respect the clinical expertise of staff members while demonstrating her own expertise through her work with students
C) avoid being co-opted as an additional staff member by stressing the demands of the instructional role
D) all of these
E) only a and b

Question 10

When their clinical nursing instructor feels anxious due to the multiple stressors in the clinical situation students can be infected, resulting in an increase in their own stress and anxiety. To deal with her own stress successfully the instructor should

A) take a "time out" to leave the clinical unit for a cup of coffee
B) gather students together to talk through what's causing her anxiety
C) count to ten and then reflect on the situation before reacting
D) seek reassurance from staff that she is handling the situation well
E) call a friend or colleague to seek guidance from them