Transformational partnerships in nursing education

Although the nursing care environment has changed significantly over the past 30 years, little has changed in the educational methods used to prepare new nurses. Since the 1930s, most clinical education in nursing has been structured with a faculty member supervising a small group of students on one or more inpatient units. Students usually move to new settings for each clinical rotation. This traditional model is heavily dependent on nursing faculty and often requires students to wait for direct faculty supervision. Students often are "strangers" to the registered nurses providing patient care in these settings. This arrangement can compromise the cohesiveness of the nursing team and limit opportunities for building professional relationships between students, registered nurses, and other members of the health care team. Developing a more structured and cohesive partnership between the registered nurse and the student, both of whom are providing care to the same patients, has the potential to revitalize clinical education in nursing.