Am I a good clinical teacher?
Unlike everyone else here, I really do not have a formal experience as a clinical teacher. What I have is an informal one or what we call as a “buddy system” where I will be the buddy senior nurse of the new nurse or the trainee for the day. Due to heavy workload and limited workforce, I will have my own normal sets of patients and the teaching and guiding of the trainees will be an extra job. To answer the question if I am a good clinical teacher, honestly, I believe I am a good one because despite the limitations our settings impose, I am still able to teach and leave a good impression to the trainees.
What attributes do I possess that make me one?
The attributes I possess would be patience, inspiration, commitment, support and the passion to teach the right and good practices to the new nurses despite the time restraints and demands of the workload. Not everybody would accept having a buddy trainee as this is an added work, but I think of it as an opportunity to instill the proper technique that they will hopefully apply in their own practice in the future. Upon reading the resources given to us, I recognize our way from an Apprentice Perspective, and this validates our process as a form of effective training and not just a band-aid solution to the problem.
What attributes do I still need to develop?
I might have to view this informal training process of ours as a chance to begin a good and proper way of doing things and that I have to work on my enthusiasm. Admittedly, whenever I was assigned a buddy, I see this as an added chore and I speak for the senior nurses in the area, too. If given a chance, I would pass the chance of being the buddy senior nurse. I do everything in my power to become a role model of good practices, but I am not an active researcher so what I teach is only the practical and effective way of doing thing. I do wish I have enough time and energy to live up to the ideal characteristics of a clinical instructors.