Challenges of Implementing Nurse Educator Core Competencies as Perceived by Clinical Instructors in Erbil City, Kurdistan Region, Iraq.

Background and objective: The quality of nursing education in the clinical setting in nursing colleges, especially in the Middle East, is based solely on the clinical instructors’ ability to provide and creating the most productive clinical environment possible. The World Health Organization (WHO) identified eight domains as core competencies for clinical nurse educators. However, studies on contemporary clinical education and educators’ role indicate that clinical instructors continuously face challenges in adopting the competences recognized by the WHO. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the challenges of implementing the nurse educator core competencies as perceived by the clinical instructors in Erbil in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Method: The interpretive phenomenological approach of the qualitative study and SWOT analysis was adopted to explore the clinical instructors’ experience of clinical education’s challenges. Result: The main challenges of the academic institutions were shortages of qualified clinical instructors, lack of confidence among instructors, and difficulty in achieving learning outcomes. Challenges reported among health institutions include inappropriate selection for managerial roles, poor recognition of clinical education, and poor teaching environments. Conclusion: The study results highlighted challenges for clinical instructors to carry out their role in a safe and less stressful environment, including inadequate strategic plans for clinical teaching from academic institutions and stakeholder involvement in health institutions.