“It's challenging but not impossible”: Exploring clinical instructors' experiences of child and family centered care in clinical nursing education

Abstract

Background

Clinical instructors (CIs) assist student nurses within the context of their pediatric clinical education to assimilate into their new roles and develop their own clinical expertise. This involves acquisition of knowledge and skills including the adoption of Child and Family Centered Care (CFCC) principles.

Aims

This study explored CIs experiences of CFCC in clinical settings by investigating their views and perceptions of its implementation within the clinical education process.

Methods

A mixed-method approach was used. A focus group was employed to collect data from 7 participants recruited from one faculty of nursing. A questionnaire was also completed by 5 participants to enrich the data collection process. Descriptive statistics used to describe their perceived importance of CFCC, and conventional content analysis was used to organize data and identify themes.

Results

While quantitative responses revealed discrepant findings, qualitative data resulted in three themes 1) Clinical instructors (CIs) know CFCC, acknowledge its importance, and take action for that 2) Facilitators and challenges of adopting CFCC in clinical education, and 3) CIs approaches to implement CFCC.

Conclusions

While CI's were able to facilitate the implementation of CFCC despite the barriers, their whole experience circulated around external factors including the clinical environment and its role in facilitating or hindering the educational process including CFCC implementation.

Implications

Program administrators should address clinical instructors concerns regarding barriers to CFCC implementation in clinical practice including the evaluation process. They should also ensure appropriate training is provided for healthcare professionals to enable them to effectively engage in CFCC.