Addressing educational quality in nursing home placements: exploring nurse educators’ time-commitments. A qualitative study

Nurse educators play a critical role in maintaining educational quality by supervising first-year student nurses during their initial clinical placements in nursing education. Nurse educators’ time-commitments, defined as the time dedicated to fulfilling educational responsibilities, can either enhance or hinder the efficiency of supervision. Hence, addressing educators’ time-commitments is essential in aiming for high-quality education. This study aimed to explore nurse educators’ experiences with time-commitments while supervising first-year student nurses during their initial clinical placements. A qualitative, exploratory and descriptive research design was used, based on five focus group interviews with 22 nurse educators, conducted in spring 2019. The data were analysed using Malterud’s framework for systematic text condensation. The study found that nurse educators experienced important time-related pressure caused by fragmented placement structures, extensive travel between sites and the need to balance physical and digital supervision. Additionally, educators reported a high demand for continuous availability for both students and registered nurse mentors, often extending beyond contracted hours. The results highlight a need for organisational strategies that acknowledge educators’ workload and support sustainable supervision practices.