Measuring student nurse professional socialisation: the development and implementation of a new instrument

Abstract

The role of the clinical teacher is poorly understood, particularly the role they play in supporting the professional socialisation of student nurses. In part this lack of understanding is due to the inadequacy of existing tools to measure the phenomenon. This paper reports on the development and trial of a tool that attempts to illuminate the effects this role has on the development of the newest members of the profession. Selected results of the trial with Australian undergraduate Bachelor of Nursing students and their Clinical Teachers demonstrate that Clinical Teachers are important adjunct socialising agents particularly for mature students and students who enter the profession for altruistic reasons. Further, female Clinical Teachers indicate that they are more involved in certain aspects of student professionalisation than their male counterparts. The development of the tool followed interviews with Clinical Teachers and graduates from 2 universities. The tool trial then used a multi-site cohort study design, with N=196 students (from 3 universities) and N=58 Clinical Teachers (from 2 universities).