Role of the Nurse Educator in Evaluation & Accountability

Nursing educators play an important role in evaluating and managing future nurses.

Nurse educators teach nursing students in a university or college setting. They may also instruct practicing nurses on topics related to skill maintenance and clinical management. Nurses are one of many professions that must complete professional development courses each year as part of maintaining their professional license.

Overall Role and Responsibilities

Nursing educators stay abreast of key topics in the industry and some nurse educators may have a specialty or focus such as pediatrics, clinical care or infectious disease management. Nurse educators teach courses, lead seminars and act as preceptors (a health care supervisor) for their students. They evaluate performance and teach the importance of ethical accountability to all students.

Evaluation

As part of undergraduate, nursing programs, students complete clinical work experience. These provide hands-on field experience working with patients. Nurse educators evaluate the performance of these students on-site with a critical eye; this first patient exposure sets the tone for future care as a licensed nurse.

Accountability

Nurse educators also play a role in fostering a sense of accountability among their nurses. These health professionals demonstrate the values and ethics of nurses to student nurses. Ensuring future generations of nurses are accountable and make decisions based on ethical, sound clinical information is an integral part of the health care system.

References

• Nurse as Educator; Susan Barcon Bastable; 2003; Jones and Bartlett Publishing