Preparing nurse teachers by means of a part-time course

AN INNOVATION in the method of preparation of new nurse teachers is under way in the counties of Devon and Cornwall. The scheme is proving effective and is economical of money and other resources. The preparation has its foundation in the existing course for the Certificate in Education (Further Education) of the Council for National Academic Awards. To that course is added an extra syllabus specially written for intending nurse teachers. The course for the Certificate in Education (FE) ('the basic course') is a part-time day-release and block course. The students are lecturers in Further Education and other parts of the public sector including nurses. They are in Colleges for a total of 90 days over 2 years. 'The extra course' which covers the extra syllabus for nurses only, is achieved by half-day release for an additional 80 half-days over the 2 years of the course. The scheme has been devised by the providing Colleges, Plymouth Polytechnic and Cornwall Technical College, in close co-operation with the Schools of Nursing in Devon and Cornwall at Exeter, Plymouth, Torbay, and Truro. The General Nursing Council for England and Wales validates the course and sponsors the students, who are usually staff members of the four Schools of Nursing. Six nurses are sponsored for each year of the course. The scheme permits the registration as nurse tutors of applicants as soon as they have successfully completed the courses. Before the scheme existed, the General Nursing Council required of most students that, after gaining the CNAA's Certificate in Education (FE), they should spend a 'probationary' year of work experience in a School of Nursing. The belief developed that the unspecified experience during that year was not providing a very valuable extra dimension to the new teacher's abilities. During the year the teacher, though employed as a member of a team in the School of Nursing, was not fully deployable while yet unregistered. Without altering the contents and structure of the