That classroom teaching is sometimes called “protected” teaching sheds a contrasting light on clinical teaching. There are so many more factors impacting clinical teaching and those factors shift and change much more so than any classroom. These conditions lead to a dynamic and exciting learning environment, certainly, but one that can be unpredictable as well and can lead to “learning outcomes [that are] intentional or unintentional, positive or negative.” (Jarski, Kulig, & Olson, 1990).

With planning and reflection, clinical teachers can learn to use the dynamism of their learning environments to the advantage of their students. The real world clinical setting lets students watch master clinicians in action. It allows them to take the theoretical knowledge they’ve gained from their classroom learning and put it into practice, setting them on the road to becoming master clinicians themselves.