EDITORIAL

Striking the balance - a nurse teacher’s dilemma

At various times in my career I have met or worked with certain people, who through their dedication to the education and training of teachers of nurses, midwives and health visitors, convinced me of the existence of qualities and standards which make teaching a special activity.

These qualities and standards hinge around the inescapable fact that those who profess to teach nursing must be properly prepared for theirjob. There is no place in the training and education of teachers for short cuts or quick fix courses. Once in practice teachers owe it to their students to take time out for regular reading and update of knowledge and skills. They have to demon- strate credibility in the art and science of teaching which means being comfortable with groups of differing sizes, and teaching students of varying ability through a range of methods in an array of environments. Teachers must be available to their students and demonstrate a willingness and an ability to be sensitive and caring when called upon to engage in pastoral work. No matter how busy, a teacher must always find time for a student who needs support. Under no circumstances should a teacher know- ingly neglect his/her students’ educational needs because this only serves to undermine the confi- dence and respect which those who teach and those who learn must have for each other if the educational process is to be successful. After all, this process is two way and there are few teachers who have not gained substantially in knowledge and insight from their students.

Becoming a proficient teacher takes time, it is a highly skilled and demanding job requiring a lifelong commitment to professional excellence. A former colleague once described his work as a teacher in the following way:

“Teachers spend their working hours inter- preting the curriculum, students actually live it.”

This piece of homespun wisdom demonstrates that a curriculum in its written form is nothing more than just a promissory note. It is the teacher who gives it form and meaning, bringing it to life through the application of skilled expertise, therefore, preparing and maintaining teachers of nurses at a high standard must remain a priority for the profession. Failure to promote a system of nurse education which keeps teacher and student in close proximity will seriously reduce the ability of nursing to deliver safe and appropriate care.

Herein lies one of several dilemmas. We know that a properly trained and educated nurse makes a difference to the quality of care available to patients and clients. It is also recognised that for a curriculum to be translated into practice there has to be a facilitative, supportive environ- ment within which students can learn their trade, and actually enjoy the experience. For this to occur it is reasonable to expect that enough teachers are available to satisfy the theoretical and practical demands of the curriculum, a consequence being that qualified and experi- enced teachers are equally visible in hospital wards and community placement areas as they are in the school or college setting. Indeed, a ‘classroom’ can be described as anywhere that planned learning occurs. Any self respecting nurse teacher will say that in the present climate of change which includes amalgamations

between multi-sited colleges, the ever present spectre of redundancies amongst teachers, and educating large class sizes, it becomes unreal to expect teaching staff to spread themselves across placement areas that in some cases are situated several miles apart. Many teachers already spend too much of their valuable time in cars travelling between centres to meet the requirements of a rigid timetable or to attend meetings. This contributes significantly to the working teacher’s

2 NURSE EDUCATION TODAY

dilemma of never being in one place long enough to put educational theory fully into practice. The absorption of colleges of health studies into the university sector will not neces- sarily ease the dilemma either. This represents a catalyst for further change, and a realignment of approaches and attitudes to teaching and learn- ing will take place. Over and above their teaching commitments university teachers are expected to prosecute research and publish articles on a regular basis. The maxim ‘publish or perish’ is a very real aspect of an academic way of life where research and writing together take up a signifi- cant amount of time and effort. Nurse teachers who become members of staff in university departments will be encouraged to extend their activities into this arena, and for some it will certainly represent a new and demanding chal- lenge. One important thing to bear in mind is that university lecturers are able to preserve some sort of balance between research, writing, and teaching because most of their students enter undergraduate programmes having achieved prestated grades at Advanced Level or an equivalent academic profile. These students usually adapt quickly to a system of learning that has its roots in the pursuit of knowledge and scholarship through personal endeavour sup- ported by access to vast libraries of resource material. The nature of contact time with lecturers is more to do with the quality of interaction than with ‘wall to wall’ teaching. On the other hand, students following diploma level nursing courses are generally not as well quali- fied on entry to their programme as are their undergraduate counterparts, the understand- ing is that 5 passes at GCSE ordinary level will satisfy entry requirements. There is an argu- ment for suggesting that a difference exists between each of these groups in the amount of direct teacher involvement necessary to support

student learning. If this argument holds water then nurse teachers have to face another dilemma. Should the university model of edu- cation be adopted then the very nature of nurse education will change direction from a teacher intensive activity to one where students become more and more the instruments of their own learning. A long hard look is already being taken at nurse teacher training in the UK by the Royal College of Nursing, and it is likely that present day arrangements will eventually be considered inappropriate, and a new direction will emerge. Whichever direction is preferred it must encom- pass those qualities and standards described at the beginning of this editorial. Clearly there remains a strong case for nurse educators to research and write about their practice, to share experiences and contribute to the body of exist- ing knowledge. The problem is in striking a balance between the time spent at the word processor and time spent in meeting student need. Both activities create their own demands, and present the conscientious teacher with a dilemma that may become increasingly difficult to resolve.

Jean Walker and Jane Randall

As I take up the reigns of editorship it is fitting to record the debt of gratitude owed to Jean Walker and Jane Randall for their pro- fessionalism in bringing Nurse Education Today to its present level of excellence. Jean in her capacity as Nursing Editor and Jane as Review Editor have worked tirelessly to establish this journal as the leader in its field. Their achievements are recognised and appreciated by teachers of nurses throughout the world, and they have the grateful thanks of us all.

PETER BIRCHENALL Editor