The crucible model underpinning holistic clinical educator professional development

Understanding that clinical learning is shaped by the context or crucible within which it occurs, transforms the pedagogical focus from acts of teaching within workplaces to development of strategies that promote student engagement with and participation in workplace activities. The Professional Development Crucible Model (as described in Chapter 11) opens up powerful pedagogical possibilities for clinical educators and supervisors to harness contextual clinical workplace influences and opportunities to shape the overall development of future health professional graduates. The forces that mould the crucible provide the key to the creation of meaningful clinical learning opportunities for pre-registration students undertaking clinical placements. The complex, unique, fluid and relational nature of clinical learning spaces highlighted by the Crucible Model has significant implications for professional development of clinical educators. Clinical educators should be assisted to understand clinical education as a unique learning space formed by a confluence of workplace influences, clinical supervisors’ actions and intentions, students’ dispositions and experiences, and engagement in professional practice. Professional development programs for clinical educators can focus on assisting clinical educators to identify the workplace influences that shape students’ clinical learning and how these forces can be best harnessed to facilitate clinical learning in their individual workplaces. Such programs should focus on educators’ reflective and critical thinking abilities as well as identification and development of a broader and more holistic range of capabilities underpinning good clinical education practices.