5 Clinical Instructors You'll Meet (And How to Impress Each One)

Clinical instructors are like Pokémon—gotta learn how to work with 'em all. Here are the five types you'll definitely encounter during your RT journey.

1. The Drill Sergeant This instructor lives for policies, procedures, and punctuality. Show up one minute late and you'll hear about it. Forget to document something? They'll know.

How to impress them: Be early. Know your stuff. Follow every rule to the letter. They respect preparation and professionalism above all else. If they seem tough, it's because they're training you to be excellent.

2. The Cool Auntie/Uncle Laid back, tells great stories, makes learning fun. You might forget you're even in clinicals. But don't be fooled—they're watching everything.

How to impress them: Ask thoughtful questions. Show genuine interest. They love students who are curious and engaged. Just don't mistake "chill" for "doesn't care about standards."

3. The Walking Textbook Ask them anything and they'll give you a 20-minute answer complete with historical context and recent research. They LOVE teaching.

How to impress them: Actually listen to their explanations. Reference something they taught you last week. Bring up interesting cases or articles you've read. They live for intellectual curiosity.

4. The Silent Observer Quiet. Watches everything. You have no idea if they're impressed or planning your demise. Gives minimal feedback until evaluation day.

How to impress them: Stay consistent. They're looking for reliability and competence over flash. Show up prepared every single day. They notice everything, even if they don't say it.

5. The Anxious Protector They hover. They double-check everything you do. They're terrified you'll hurt a patient or yourself. It can feel suffocating.

How to impress them: Be patient and understanding. Verbalize your thinking out loud. Show them you're thinking critically and safely. Their anxiety comes from caring deeply about both you and the patients.

The Universal Truth: No matter which type you get, here's what works every time: Show up prepared, be honest about what you don't know, take feedback graciously, and treat every patient with respect. Do those things and not any of these five instructors will have a leg to stand on to give you a hard time.