The adjustment of the respiratory therapy student to the clinical environment is one aspect of the educational program with which the clinical instructor must deal. In many ways, the new environment is radically different from that to which the student has previously been exposed. It is obvious that students come to the hospital with many preconceived attitudes and learned behavior patterns. What may not be obvious are the capabilities possessed by students for successful interaction with patients and health care workers. Effective interaction at once meets the needs of the patient, the organization, and the student. While interacting in the new environment, the student may display behavior that satisfies needs in only one or two of these areas. Indeed, at times, meeting needs in one area may conflict with the demands of the other areas. Does a student through trial and error or other devices develop models of behavior that are successful in specific situations? If so, will they allow him to identify and meet the needs of patient, organization (school, hospital, instructor, hierarchy), and self in a successful manner? To what degree do interactive behavior patterns learned during clinical affiliation meet the expectations of medical directors and instructors? To determine the degree of interactive problem-solving capabilities of respiratory therapy students upon completion of clinical training, we devised and carried out the study reported here.
William E. Powers (Sun,) studied this question.