Complementary therapies and nurse education--the need for specialist teachers

The need for nursing colleges to consider introducing complementary therapies into nurse training cannot be denied as the interest in complementary therapies grows. Consideration is, however, necessary as to whether this role could be performed by external teachers, or by dual qualified nurse teachers within the college. This article suggests the possible advantages of employing such a nurse teacher and argues that such a role involves more than information giving. It involves monitoring, integrating and defragmentation of the information given to the students. This can be achieved through careful curriculum planning, classroom teaching and clinical involvement. Additional advantages could be the narrowing of the theory practice gap and research involvement within the clinical field. Care must, however, be taken to ensure the credibility of the qualification of the teacher. If implemented correctly such a specialist nurse teacher will be seen as a crucial member in meeting the public demands for a safe and caring profession.