The Clinical Nurse Educator Role: A Snapshot in Time

Abstract

Background: The role of the clinical nurse educator (CNE), vital to safe patient care and professional development of clinical nurses, is poorly defined in the literature with respect to the how the CNE spends his or her time.

Method: This study set out to quantify the role of the CNE in a large, rural, and tertiary academic medical center using the measure of time. A group of nine Master's-prepared CNEs voluntarily participated in a month-long time analysis hypothesizing, then reporting, the number of hours spent in each practice domain (clinical practice support, central orientation, system-wide initiatives, and professional development).

Results: At the completion of the month, the data suggested that the majority of the time spent by the nurse educator was in clinical practice support.

Conclusion: The findings begin to quantify the CNE role and reinforced the need for more role clarity related to how CNEs' time is spent. [J Contin Educ Nurs. 2019;50(5):228-232.].