The Nursing Educator as Facilitator of Transition from Education to Practice

Abstract

Nurses perceive in varying degrees a discrepancy between nursing education and nursing practice. It may be argued that, if we are educating for a practice discipline, we should adopt a functional approach by preparing nurses who are capable of fitting smoothly into the present health care system. In other words, why perpetuate the discrepancy between nursing education and nursing practice? Kramer's (1974) answer is that educators have a responsibility for equipping nurses to cope with a constantly changing society. If change in the health care system is to mean improvement then: It is not enough to teach nurse aspirants the specific behaviors and facts needed to nurse in the system of today; we must equip them with the tools needed to nurse in the future. (Kramer, 1974:27) The assumption is that process learning of an encompassing nature (the tools) will at least partially equip the practising nurse of the future to manage change.