Australian Nurse Teachers Society

Hi Marlene

Like Lynne we have consistenly used the 1:8 ratio of clinical facilitator to student.  The difference for us is that we supply the facilitators from our staff.  We also use this as part of the development pathway for our nursing staff who are interested in education, and appointments are eagerly sought.   We also have a CF for education in most of our units and >30% of our nursing staff have been trained as preceptors.  Because we are building staff numbers to open a new hospital having clinical staff able to teach has been seen as a priority, to develop staff skills and integrate new staff.  The various CFs, for students and for ward staff are supported by a Nurse Educator.  Currently, I think we have about 180 students from RN & EN courses, that number can increase to >280 at peak times. 

It would be interesting to know if anyone has actually researched the effectiveness of this 1:8 ratio :-)

Ciao!

Colleen Bell

Nurse Educator