Enhancing your clinical links and credibility: the role of nurse lecturers and teachersin clinical practice.

In addition to teaching and research, nurse lecturers are expected to maintain clinical credibility and competence by spending at least 20% of their time in practice; this requirement is included in many nurse lecturer/teacher employment contracts. The a imof this paper is to suggest a number of realistic, pragmatic approaches that can be used to enhance clinical credibility and competence, which in turn should result in teaching whichis up-to-date and grounded in the realities of clinical practice. Th e approaches discussed include working clinically, developing the learning environment, getting involved in practice development, developing links with the local trust, involving clinicians in teaching, running a learning set, doing some clinically orien tated research, and running a staff support group. The argument that runs throughout this paper is that nurse lecturers need to develop an individualized practice-based role that enables them to keep in touch with current clinical developments.