Clinical practice: where does the nurse teacher fit?

The changing pattern of nurse education with diploma level qualification and increasing integration with higher education raise questions about the support and supervision of student nurses in clinical placements. Clinical practice is seen as giving care at the bedside. The role of the nurse teacher in this arena is unclear. Individual nurse teachers have expressed the wish to work in nurse education to help improve the quality of care, yet the indications are that they are unable to fulfil a practice role. A coordinated professional response to the problem of addressing the theory/practice gap in nurse education has not been evident following the demise of the clinical teacher role. The organization of health care and nurse education in the higher education arena will have an impact on the clinical role of the nurse teacher in future. The clinical role of the nurse teacher will be critical in future both for ensuring that students in clinical placements receive adequate supervision and for clarifying the role of the nurse teacher in higher education.