Barriers and facilitators to fulfilling the teaching assistant role from nursing students’ perspective: a qualitative study

Abstract

Abstract Background Employing postgraduate students as Teaching Assistants (TA) has become a common practice in many higher education institutions and is part of a growing international trend for professional practice. Objective This study aimed to determine the barriers and facilitators to fulfilling the teaching assistant role from nursing students’ perspective. Methodology This qualitative-descriptive study was conducted in 2022 on teaching assistants in the Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery of Tehran University of Medical Sciences. 13 teaching assistants were selected by targeted sampling method with maximum variation. The inclusion criteria were 2nd-semester postgraduate nursing students and above, having experience as a teaching assistant, and willing to participate in the research. Data were collected through semi-structured individual interviews for 45 to 60 min until saturation was reached. Data analysis was done manually and using the framework analysis method with steps: Familiarization, Identifying a thematic framework, indexing, Charting, data synthesis, mapping, and interpretation. The trustworthiness of the study data was determined with the Lincoln and Guba criteria. Results Barriers to fulfilling the TAs’ role were divided into three main categories with nine subcategories: (1) Not accepting the teaching assistant as a clinical instructor (2) not being prepared to accept the TA role, and (3) improper planning of the TA plan. Facilitators are divided into two main categories with five subcategories: (1) internal motivation, and (2) empowering TAs. Conclusion To facilitate management processes in the field of education and to achieve educational goals, including improving the quality of education and better learning, planning and compiling instructions to create written job descriptions for teacher assistants should be done, also, with careful planning, steps should be taken to scientifically employ capable teacher assistants as young and motivated forces in education processes.