Student Described Importance of Nurse Educator Caring Actions in Various Class Settings

Caring pedagogy is a well-known and proven nurse educator instructional approach resulting in improved student attrition, enhanced attitude towards the students’ nursing program, and a caring approach extending into professional practice. Despite much research and development of nurse educator caring actions, the possible effect of different class settings on the student perception of these nurse educator caring actions is unknown. The purpose of this study aimed to identify how students’ rate and rank order the importance of nurse educator caring actions within the different class settings. A descriptive quantitative design was conducted to explore student perceptions of the importance of nurse educator caring actions in different class settings. This design was chosen to provide students an opportunity to rate and rank order the caring actions individually, within subcategories, and overall, in the different class settings. Independent t-test statistic, Chi-square statistic, Mann Whitney U statistical tests, and a descriptive table evaluated the two groups. The analysis revealed that five caring actions were rated as more important by in-person students. These actions included the nurse educator being attentive to the participant, sharing fun/personal photographs, memories, and/or experiences, discussing past professional experiences, inspiring the participant to continue knowledge and skill development, and including the participant in their discussions. Upon rank order analysis, the nurse educator being attentive to the student with communication, being supportive in times of stress, and facilitating the students’ growth were top ranked. Within subcategory analysis, the formation of a relationship with the nurse educator was rated of higher importance within the in-person class setting. When the caring actions were evaluated as a whole, the students within the in-person class setting rated the caring actions by the nurse educator as more important than the students within the blended class setting.