In the institution that I am affiliated with, nurse educators were identified as Lecturers, who sustain the learning environment in the classroom, and Clinical Instructors, who manage students in the affiliated clinical institution or community. I started and presently designated as a Lecturer, and the recent clinical preceptorship that I experienced was my clinical practicum in Ward 7 of Philippine General Hospital as part of my course requirements in N226.7 – Teaching Mental Health and Psychiatric Nursing. This opportunity allowed me to step into a clinical teaching environment where I supervised, evaluated, and supported designated students in the practice setting. My task involved assessing of students’ output such as Nursing Care Plan, Drug Study, and Psychodynamics, and observed activities intended for psychiatric clients, medication administration, and other bedside interventions.
I noted number of advantages to student learning, yet, one significant positive mark of this clinical preceptorship was the chance for direct observation of learners and provided immediate feedback. This allowed me to evaluate and guide the students particularly in psychiatric nursing essential skills, therapeutic communication and clinical judgment. In addition, practicing in a tertiary and teaching hospital offered a meaningful clinical experience where wide range of psychiatric cases can be handled as well as solidify the understanding of psychiatric concepts by means of real-world setting.
Conversely, the perceived disadvantage was the limited time and scope of interaction, as I am not the full-time Clinical Instructor. This created adjustments for assigned students, who may have felt unsure about evaluation standards. Another negative aspect, the psychiatric ward is a clinical environment that not all nursing students may feel adequately prepared to control the emotional and psychological demands involved. This may require consistent and close student monitoring.
As a reflection of this clinical exposure, I found importance in this clinical preceptorship experience specifically in integrating concepts that I usually discussed in a classroom setting into the clinical practice.
