Nurse Educator Roles and Responsibilities, Essay Example

Introduction

Educating BSN students has evolved throughout history and continues to grow and thrive through the expansion of nursing knowledge for educators. Strong educators are thoughtful, communicative, passionate, and proficient in many areas of nursing practice, and they provide their students with a framework for academic, personal, and professional growth (Bartels, 2005). Nursing education also provides a unique platform for learning and obtaining clinical guidance that will enable nurses to achieve success in a variety of practice settings (Bartels, 2005).

Analysis

Nurse educators are found in many areas, including academic settings, staff development, and patient education. In each of these areas, it is important to identify creative models that will enable the profession to grow and thrive in order to meet the needs of modern communities and populations (NLN Board of Governors, 2011). All nurse educators must demonstrate knowledge and familiarity with the clinical responsibilities of nurses in many practice settings so that they may provide their students with much-needed guidance in providing direct patient care and in performing other duties (Gristci et.al, 2005). In this context, nurse educators must provide training and knowledge regarding patient-centered care in a clinical capacity to support effective outcomes (AACN, 2007). These efforts will support the continued development of new perspectives to ensure that nursing students obtain the necessary knowledge in a timely manner (AACN, 2007).

Conclusion

Nurse educators must focus on a variety of areas in planning curricular tools and models of delivery for their students. It is necessary for these knowledge experts to work tirelessly to ensure that nursing students are provided with the type of educational platform that is necessary to promote successful results and to engage learners in a variety of areas to stimulate knowledge generation, skill development, and clinical decision-making in the desired capacity.

References

American Association of Colleges of Nursing (2007). White paper on the education and role of the clinical nurse leader. Pp. 1-40.

Bartels, J.E. (2005). Your career as a nurse educator. NSNA Imprint, retrieved from http://www.nsna.org/Portals/0/Skins/NSNA/pdf/Imprint_Jan05_educator.pdf

Gristci, O., Jacono, B., and Jacono, J. (2005). The nurse educator’s clinical role. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 50(1), 84-92.

NLN Board of Governors (2011). Academic progression in nursing education: a living document from the National League for Nursing. Retrieved from http://www.nln.org/aboutnln/livingdocuments/pdf/nlnvision_1.pdf