Analysis of the role experiences of clinical nurse educators in the process of improving the nursing education system

With the recent increase in critically ill patients and the ongoing process of healthcare system reform, the training of nurses capable of caring for critically ill patients and the securement of a stable nursing workforce have become emphasized as important social tasks. To address this, South Korea has introduced a dedicated clinical nurse educator system aimed at ensuring proficient and stable nursing staff in clinical settings. However, little is known about how clinical nurse educators experience and establish their roles during the early implementation of this system. This study aimed to explore the role experiences of clinical nurse educators during the implementation of South Korea’s clinical nurse educator system. Data were collected through focus group interviews with 12 clinical nurse educators currently working in general or tertiary hospitals located in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do. The data were analyzed using the inductive content analysis method. The categories that emerged from this study were perceived role as a clinical nurse educator, internal conflict as a clinical nurse educator, lack of an external support system for clinical nurse educators, and efforts to establish a role as an educator. The subcategories of perceived role as a clinical nurse educator were the role as an educator for nurses, the role as a supporter for the role transition of new nurses, and the role as a mentor for the socialization of new nurses. The subcategories of internal conflict as a nurse educator were difficulties for nurse educators and generational conflict with new nurses. The subcategories of lack of external support for nurse educators were lack of recognition of nurse educators and lack of infrastructure for nurse educators. The subcategories of efforts to establish the role as an educator were subcategorized into self-development to fulfill the role of a nurse educator and activities to change the perception of clinical nurse educators. The findings highlight the need to determine the appropriate number of clinical nurse educators and develop targeted educational programs to support their professional roles. Future research should focus on enhancing institutional support systems for clinical nurse educators in South Korea.