Move to the head of the class: developing staff nurses as teachers

Nurses, while clinical experts in their specific fields, rarely have an opportunity to learn and practice teaching skills needed in an educator role. Clinical experts experience anxiety when asked to make the transition from a clinical environment to the teaching role. This article describes a 4-hour program developed to train nurses to become teachers. Adult learning principles, learning styles, and curriculum development were included to demonstrate the skills necessary to help nurses become proficient teachers.