title: Clinical learning environments (actual and expected): perceptions of Iran University of Medical Sciences nursing students.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Educational clinical environment has an important role in nursing students' learning. Any difference between actual and expected clinical environment will decrease nursing students' interest in clinical environments and has a negative correlation with their clinical performance.
  
  
  METHODS
  This descriptive cross-sectional study is an attempt to compare nursing students' perception of the actual and expected status of clinical environments in medical-surgical wards. Participants of the study were 127 bachelor nursing students of Iran University of Medical Sciences in the internship period. Data gathering instruments were a demographic questionnaire (including sex, age, and grade point average), and the Clinical Learning Environment Inventory (CLEI) originally developed by Professor Chan (2001), in which its modified Farsi version (Actual and Preferred forms) consisting 42 items, 6 scales and 7 items per scale was used. Descriptive and inferential statistics (t-test, paired t-test, ANOVA) were used for data analysis through SPSS version 16.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results indicated that there were significant differences between the preferred and actual form in all six scales. In other word, comparing with the actual form, the mean scores of all items in the preferred form were higher. The maximum mean difference was in innovation and the highest mean difference was in involvement scale.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It is concluded that nursing students do not have a positive perception of their actual clinical teaching environment and this perception is significantly different from their perception of their expected environment.
authors.affiliation: Associate Professor, Center for Educational Research in Medical Sciences (CERMS), Department of Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. sbigdeli@alumni.sfu.ca.
authors.forename: Shoaleh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bigdeli
authors.affiliation: PhD Candidate of nursing, Hematology and oncology Research center, Students Research Committee, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran. vahidpakpour@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Vahid
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Pakpour
authors.affiliation: Endocrinology and Metabolism Research Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Clinical Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. maryam_aalaa@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Maryam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Aalaa
authors.affiliation: Faculty Member, MSc in Nursing, Center for Nursing Care Research of Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Shekarabi-R@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Robabeh
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Shekarabi
authors.affiliation: Endocrinology and Metabolism Research Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Clinical Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. sanjarim@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Mahnaz
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sanjari
authors.affiliation: Faculty Member of School of Public Health, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. haghani511@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Hamid
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Haghani
authors.affiliation: Associate Professor, PhD in Nursing. Elderly Health Research Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Population Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran & Endocrinology and Metabolism Research Center, Endocrinology and Metabolism Clinical Sciences Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. nmehrdad@tums.ac.ir.
authors.forename: Neda
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mehrdad
keywords: Clinical learning environment; Nursing education; Nursing student