REGISTERED NURSES' EXPERIENCE WITH ONLINE EDUCATION AND ROLE TRANSITION TO CLINICAL INSTRUCTORS

Abstract

This research study is a descriptive qualitative case study aimed at addressing the issue of insufficient preparation of Registered Nurses (RNs) for the role of academic Clinical Nursing Instructors (CNIs) in undergraduate nursing programs in North America. CNIs are usually clinical nursing experts with little or no formal preparation related to teaching methods and pedagogy. Reports of CNIs feeling unprepared for the role of clinical teaching are well documented in the literature. This descriptive case study describes the experiences of RNs with an online Academic Clinical Nurse Educator Preparation Program (ACNEPP) and its influence on their preparation for the role of CNIs. The target population for this study was part-time CNIs in undergraduate nursing programs in the United States of America (USA) who had taken the online ACNEPP. Qualitative data collection was conducted through the review of the online ACNEPP, demographic questionnaires, and semi-structured interviews to elicit participants’ experiences with the online ACNEPP and its impact on their clinical teaching practice. Findings from this study indicate that RN to CNI role transition remains challenging; they also highlight content and design features of the online ACNEPP that enhanced the participants’ clinical teaching practice and facilitated their role transition. These findings provide direction for improving preparation of academic CNIs by designing short, flexible, online and on-demand professional development and onboarding programs to help support the transition of RNs to CNIs. The findings can also contribute to addressing the global nursing shortage by preparing more CNIs to support a greater number of nursing students in completing their education.