The role and challenges of the clinical nurse educator in the rural setting

This presentation will focus on the introduction of the clinical nurse educator into the acute environment of a rural referral hospital in regional NSW. Rural clinical settings like their metropolitan cousins are experiencing a visible increase in the number of clinical nurse educator roles. This facility has experienced a change in the nursing portfolio from no clinical nurse educator positions to four within a three year period. The role of the hospital based clinical nurse educator is a pivotal factor in supporting both experienced and inexperienced nurses to apply formal learning to clinical practice. While recognition of the role’s status and value is generally undisputed, role descriptions and boundaries vary between employing institutions and indeed between wards and units within the same institutions (Conway & Elwin, 2006). This presentation explores the role description and function of the CNE in the rural setting. The presenters will explore the challenges of introducing a new tier of clinical leaders with a lack of explicit role demarcation and scope. As clinical nurse educators we have been able to apply critical thinking and leadership to introduce a number of innovations including utilisation of theories such as practice development and transformational leadership to overcome professional challenges within the roles. Some of the strategies utilised include the introduction of an Action Learning Set and leadership development. References: Conway, J. & Elwin, C., (2006). Mistaken, misshapen and mythical images of nurse education: Creating a shared identity for clinica, Nurse Educ. Pract . ,doi10.1016/j.nepr.2006.08.005