Strengths and Weaknesses of Clinical Education Settings from the Viewpoint of Midwifery Students and Educators of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences

Abstract

Background: Achieving a desirable clinical education requires continuous assessment of the current situations in clinical education and identifying the strengths and weaknesses. This study aimed to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the clinical education fields. Methods: This is a cross-sectional and descriptive study in which the strengths and weaknesses of clinical education settings were investigated from the viewpoints of all students and educators of Tabriz faculty of nursing and midwifery in 2010. Data collecting tool was based on Weldner and Laurent questionnaire. Research sample, equal to research community, was 156 midwifery students and 13 midwifery educators selected through census method. Collected data were analyzed by descriptive and analytic (Chi square) statistics through SPSS (ver.13) software. Findings: The major weaknesses of clinical education settings were inaccessibility to necessary information prior to clinical education, lack of study rooms and conference spaces for students, and opportunities to interact with some faculty and university headquarters. The major strengths were considering students’ educational needs, providing adequate clinical wards and equipment, and various cases. There were significant difference between views of students in various educational sections toward evaluation of clinical education in half of items (p<0.05). Conclusions: Providing necessary information prior to clinical education, introducing written learning objectives, revising the method of students' assessment and removing physical deficiencies in clinical settings can be an effective step towards improving the quality of clinical training.