Achieving confidence and competence for lecturers in a practice context

This paper demonstrates how the maintenance of competence and confidence was achieved and maintained through the authors' involvement, as lecturers, in hands-on care in two clinical settings: acute medicine and the community. The latter took place in the link area for one of the authors (JB). The process is explored by taking elements of a concept analysis, ([Rodgers, 1993]) namely antecedents, attributes and consequences of the lecturer in clinical practice. Through a facilitated action-learning approach, the authors interpreted their role as lecturers in practice, as advocated by [Lee, 1996] and explored the extent to which current educational standards can be met by lecturers working in clinical practice. These standards underline the importance of the lecturer being competent and confident in practice., The Peach Report ([UKCC, 1999]) identified how students' learning in a practice context has been intensely affected through changes in service delivery, and the need for appropriate preparation of nurses to work in this changing, complex health service was emphasised. It therefore follows that those involved in the preparation of students who are fit for practice should themselves deliver clinically relevant teaching which is based on recent practice experience