Knowing within: practice wisdom of clinical nurse educators

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Clinical Pedagogy
• Professional Development

Background:

• Clinical nurse educators face unique teaching challenges distinct from classroom settings.
• Interruptions and everyday encounters foster unique understandings and wisdom in these educators.
• Existing literature lacks a deep explication of this specialized practical wisdom.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explicate the practical wisdom acquired by nurse educators in clinical settings.
• To understand how educators make sense of and respond to teaching interruptions.
• To identify the core domains of professional knowledge developed through clinical teaching practice.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative interpretive analysis of 32 interviews with 9 nurse educators.
• Accessed philosophical literature on practical wisdom, tacit knowledge, and smooth activity.
• Utilized the metaphor of 'Unready to Hand' as Adventure to frame the analysis.

Main Results:

• The metaphor 'Unready to Hand' as Adventure elucidated the educators' experiences.
• Three key domains of practice were identified: Preserving the Ideal, Salvaging Learning, and Sustaining Self.
• These domains represent the acquired professional teaching knowledge and response strategies.

Conclusions:

• Clinical nurse educators develop distinct practical wisdom through navigating teaching challenges.
• Understanding these domains offers insights into effective responses within clinical education.
• This wisdom is crucial for sustaining both learning and the educators themselves in practice.