DEVELOPING AN INSTRUMENT TO EVALUATE EFFECTIVENESS OF CLINICAL ANESTHESIA INSTRUCTORS WHEN WORKING WITH STUDENT NURSE (RN) ANESTHETISTS, USING CRITICAL INCIDENT TECHNIQUE.
Contributors: University of Wyoming.
Published: 1983
Number of pages: 99
Subjects: Education, Health.; Health Sciences, Nursing.
Description: This study was conducted to develop and validate an instructor evaluation tool by which registered nurse anesthesia students can evaluate clinical instructors. The evaluation tool was developed in two steps. First, through the use of Critical Incident Technique (CIT), explicit behaviors of clinical nurse anesthesia instructors were identified from incidents submitted by students. Second, once a list of explicit behaviors of instructors had been identified, a 1-5 Likert scale was employed to determine the relative importance of those behaviors. Again, this determination was made by student nurse anesthetists.

In the seven Phase II (clinical) sites administered by the Medical Department of the United States Army, 62 anesthesia students each were asked to submit four record cards (critical incidents). A list of 28 instructor behaviors were identified. Twenty-eight anesthesia students in the Nurse Anesthesia Program of the United States Air Force were asked to rate the best and the poorest clinical instructor they ever had against each item on this list.

The two null hypotheses investigated in this study were as follows: (1) There is no significant difference in means on the 28 instructor constructs between the best and the poorest clinical instructors. (2) No statistically significant differences exist on the 28 instructor behavior means between: (a) First- and second-year students. (b) Those students interested in teaching after graduation vs. those who planned to enter clinical practice. (c) Female and male students.

The first null hypothesis was rejected. Each of the 28 instructor behaviors on which the students compared the best and poorest instructors were found to be statistically significant (p < .0001). The second null hypothesis was rejected for the variable Year in Program, failed to be rejected for the variable Interest in Teaching, and found not interpretable for the Gender variable because there were only four female students in the Air Force program. An instructor evaluation scale was developed including all 28 instructor behaviors.

The study concluded that first- and second-year students rate good and poor clinical instructors differently on eight behaviors. These differences should be taken into account when employing the instructor evaluation instrument.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 45-01, Section: A, page: 0090.

Thesis (PH.D.)--UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING, 1983.

School code: 0264.