Nurse Education Tomorrow Conference 1991. An examination of selected current student nurse issues

Clinical teaching has become increasingly complex and difficult for nursing instructors. Pressures for public accountability in nursing education and patient care, economic stresses, marked changes in the nursing curricula, and the growth of collective bargaining units have all complicated the task of educating student nurses. Traditional issues focusing on teaching strategies, academic and clinical evaluation concerns have been extensively researched. What are the current issues facing nurse educators? Our project aimed to identify some current student nurse issues in selected nursing programmes. Using a convenience sample, data were collected from the chairmen of nursing education in selected agencies. Analysis following the Fox and Diamond framework (1965) revealed recurring issues relating to mature students, stress and the clinical environment, and the mentor needs are a few of the issues discussed in this paper.