Structured Clinical Teaching Initiatives: A Preparation for First Year Nursing Students as First Timer in the Clinical Placement

Abstract

Clinical learning is a fundamental element in nursing curricula from the sourcing of appropriate experiences for students to national board registration requirements and workforce requirements. For nursing students, the first year of their first semester experience of being in the clinical area is daunting and the exposure to caring for life is overbearing for them. Students are very scared of making mistakes and harming the patients. Good clinical nursing environment is not only plays an important role in the development of the students' competency but also their confidence, organizational skills, and practical preparedness. The purpose of this study was to prepare the first year nursing students the confidence level through structured clinical teaching initiatives, called CNI. This is a Quasi Experimental one group pre and post-test design. Samples had been selected from 30 students of the Diploma of Nursing program in First Year and First Semester. CNI emphasized the structured clinical teaching and supervision for three consecutive semesters from Semester 1 to Semester 3. Results revealed that, students exhibited high self-confidence level after the implementation of CNI especially in delivery of patient care. The students' ability to listen, to recognize, to identify health issues even from non-verbal cues on patients' problem was one of the highest achievements after the implementation of the CNI. In conclusion, a structured program on how to guide students learning in the clinical placement will improve the confidence level especially for the beginners and no matter how weak the guideline is, it's really worth it.