An evaluation of the impact of lecturer practitioners on learning

The aim of this study was to determine if nursing diploma students recognized a difference in the nature of classroom teaching between lecturer practitioners and university-based senior lecturers in nursing. The study generated both qualitative and quantitative data from a sample of 117 student nurses completing an elderly care module. Analysis of the data suggested that the students associate lecturer practitioners with a realistic, evidence-based presentation of contemporary nursing practice, which they found both academically liberating, and efficacious to their practical training. Such associations were less apparent when analysing student responses to senior lecturer teaching. The study underlines the potential of lecturer practitioners to make a positive and far-reaching contribution to the future of nurse education.