Practice educators in the United Kingdom: A national job description

Much is known about the purpose of practice educators in the United Kingdom, but how their role is implemented is subject to conflicting expectations, partly created by the structure in which they work. Joint appointments between universities and practice are an opportunity for both organisations to collaborate in a partnership to enhance practice learning and fulfill one of the main aims of the practice educator role: to narrow the theory-practice gap. However tensions exist. This paper advocates a national (UK) job description for practice educators to reduce some of the tensions and conflict between the expectations of collaborating partners in practice learning. This would enable practice educators to concentrate on their obligations while employers concentrate on enabling practice educators to fulfill their obligations by upholding their rights to proper preparation, support and career structure.