The lived experience of clinical educators

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Phenomenology

Background:

• Clinical educators play a vital role in preparing nursing students for practice.
• Existing literature often overlooks the lived experiences of these educators.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the everyday meanings and lived experiences of clinical nurse educators.
• To identify key themes central to their professional roles.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative phenomenological study.
• In-depth, audiotaped interviews with four registered nurse clinical educators in Victoria, Australia.
• Hermeneutic thematic analysis of interview data.

Main Results:

• Five central themes emerged: being human, having standards, developing teaching style, learn as you go, and not belonging.
• The themes 'learn as you go' and 'not belonging' are novel findings.
• Participants often lacked identified role requirements for clinical educators.

Conclusions:

• Clinical nurse educators require extensive preparation and ongoing support.
• Further research is needed to link clinical educator support with student learning outcomes.
• The role of clinical educators as vanguards of student learning warrants further investigation.