Clinical teaching behaviours of preceptors of undergraduate nursing students at a private teaching hospital in Islamabad, Pakistan: a convergent mixed-methods study protocol.

introductionClinical learning is the crucial element of undergraduate nursing education, with preceptors playing a pivotal role in bridging theoretical knowledge and practical skills. Their clinical teaching behaviours (CTBs) directly influence students' confidence, clinical competence and transition into professional practice. While global research on CTBs exists, evidence from resource-constrained settings like Pakistan remains scarce, where preceptors face unique challenges. Existing studies often focus solely on either quantitative assessment of preceptors' competencies or qualitative narratives, failing to provide comprehensive, data-driven insights. To bridge this gap, this study employs a mixed-methods approach, integrating quantitative and qualitative data to capture the perspectives of both undergraduate nursing students and preceptors, providing a comprehensive understanding of CTBs in this context. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The study will employ a convergent mixed-methods design, where quantitative and qualitative data are collected and analysed independently but concurrently, with integration occurring during the interpretation phase. In the quantitative phase, all undergraduate nursing students engaged in clinical practicum (n=50) and their respective preceptors (n=14) at the study hospital will be included. The Clinical Teaching Behavior Inventory, a validated tool, will be used to assess students' perceptions of preceptors' CTBs across six domains. In the qualitative phase, all 14 preceptors will be invited to participate in semistructured face-to-face interviews to explore their perspectives and experiences related to CTBs. The qualitative data will be analysed using Creswell's five-step manual content analysis, while quantitative data will be analysed through descriptive and inferential statistics using SPSS V.25. Integration of findings will be achieved through the Pillar Integration Process, a systematic four-stage method, employing joint-display tables to provide a comprehensive understanding of CTBs. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical approval was obtained from the Institutional Review Board and Ethics Committee (IRB&EC# 618-24) of Shifa Tameer-e-Millat University, Islamabad, Pakistan. Written permission for data collection will be secured from the institutional authorities. Written informed consent will be obtained from all participants. Confidentiality will be maintained by anonymisation of all identifying information and secure data storage. The results will be published in a scientific journal following the Mixed-Methods Article Reporting Standards and presented at a national conference.