The lived experience of the transition of the clinical nurse expert to the novice nurse educator 12

The purpose of this research study was to describe and interpret the experience of nurses without any educational theory as they transition from the role of the clinical nurse expert to the novice nurse educator. A qualitative design with a phenomenology method was conducted of 8 clinical nurse experts who have transitioned into the role of the novice nurse educator within the past 2 years. Analysis of the data yielded 3 themes: (a) clinical nurse experts have expert knowledge to share and have a desire to educate the next generation; (b) the transition process elicits feelings of stress related to not having educational theory; (c) consistent mentoring contributes to an easier transition to the role. As a result of this study, nursing program administrators can assist the clinical nurse expert by providing additional support in areas of educational theory, examination writing, and analysis.