Collaboration in the clinical setting : encouraging risk taking to empower learning

It would appear that discrepancies in the understanding of role expectation and measured student outcomes in the clinical practice setting may indirectly contribute to anxiety. In this paper, we will seek to identify: the etiology of role confusion; offer strategies to reduce anxiety; and encourage risk taking among clinical participants to empower student learning. The participants are: clinical facilitators, or persons who interface between the university and the teachning-learning environment, agency staff and the students of nursing. Students aspire to 'perfection' as a clinical standard of practice. Subsequently, admissions of "I don't know" or of being incorrect may be perceived as failures in the clinincal setting. Staff believe that they must 'know everything' to set positive examples for students. Herein lies the paradox and a potential for performance anxiety. Supportive collaboration by clinical facilitators and agency staff is a mandatory prerequisite for meeting student learning needs. This commitment to interactive dialogue promotes the clarification of role expectation and role performance of individual nursing students, agency staff and clinical faciliators before the commencement of clinical practice experience.