Joint-Appointments: Strengthening the Clinical Practice Component in Nursing Education Programmes

Abstract

INTRODUCTION A good deal of discussion and debate in nursing focuses on the clinical practice component in nursing education programmes. Central to these discussions are issues concerned with the need for clinical practice that allows students to achieve the goals of a particular nursing programme while at the same time preparing graduates for the realities of the work-world. Inherent in this statement is the notion of accountability, the theme for the Education Day of this Western CAUSN Meeting. According to the American Heritage dictionary (1969) accountability is defined as: being responsible; being answerable for. What individuals and/or institutions are responsible for and how that responsibility is carried out is derived from many sources, some of which are beliefs and values, aims and goals, societal mandates and defined roles. This paper is concerned with examining one way in which a university nursing programme has endeavoured to be accountable in its commitment to the goal of improved human well-being through the advancement and transmission of knowledge, and the development of professional practitioners who can apply knowledge creatively and compassionately. Although the two functions cannot be separated this paper will primarily focus on one, that is, the development of practitioners, namely, students in a graduate programme where the emphasis is on clinical specialization and research, and further it will focus on an aspect of that preparation, the clinical practice component.