From student to nurse

Abstract

The previous chapters in this book have described the components of a cycle which represents a phased process of clinical teaching and learning. Representation of such a complex phenomenon in such a way is, of course, simplistic but it helps us to analyse the various parts of the teacher’s task and to question and improve some of those practices which we have long taken for granted. This chapter fills in the background to the clinical teacher’s task. It considers the context and culture of clinical teaching and the process of becoming a nurse. The clinical nurse educator is, above all, the colleague who is most responsible for initiating the novice to his or her profession. To do so without an appreciation of the subtleties of that process would be to miss the most potent opportunities available for shaping the future practice of nursing.