Clinical instruction constitutes a large portion of baccalaureate nursing education. The quality of the clinical experience is often directly related to the quality of the clinical instructor. Several studies have identified characteristics of effective clinical instructors in ADN and BSN programs. Despite the growth of accelerated BSN nursing programs no prior studies were found regarding attributes of effective clinical instructors from the perspective of ABSN students. The purpose of this descriptive study was to identify the attributes of effective clinical instructors from the perspective of ABSN students and to compare them to traditional BSN students. This study used a stratified convenience sample of 51 ABSN and 152 BSN students. Students rated 47 attributes of clinical instructors using the Nursing Clinical Teaching Effectiveness Inventory. Descriptive statistics identified the top-rated attributes from students in both programs. Inferential statistics identified ten attributes which were identified as significantly different between the students in each program.