What is it about?
Nurse academics are increasingly expected to teach subjects that extend beyond their own clinical expertise, yet little attention has been paid to how confident they feel doing so. This commentary discusses a study exploring confidence and anxiety among nurse academics teaching nursing numeracy. The findings showed that while many educators felt confident, significant levels of anxiety remained, particularly among those with less educational experience or fewer academic qualifications. The article considers the wider implications for nurse education and argues that this challenge extends beyond numeracy to many areas of undergraduate nursing programmes.
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Why is it important?
The confidence and anxiety of educators can directly affect the student learning experience. Nursing students often experience anxiety around challenging subjects, and educators who feel uncertain or underprepared may unintentionally reinforce these concerns. As nursing curricula continue to expand and nurse academics teach across broader subject areas, universities need to ensure that educators receive appropriate preparation, support and professional development. Supporting academic confidence ultimately benefits both educators and students and contributes to safer, more effective nursing practice.
Perspectives
This commentary highlights an often-overlooked aspect of nursing education: the learning needs of nurse academics themselves. Effective teaching requires more than subject knowledge; it relies on confidence, pedagogical expertise and access to supportive professional development. Higher education institutions should create opportunities for mentorship, coaching, continuing professional development and reflective practice to help academics develop confidence in unfamiliar subject areas. By investing in the development of educators, nursing programmes can improve student experiences, strengthen learning outcomes and better prepare the future nursing workforce.
Prof Michael J Tatterton
University of Bradford
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Confidence and anxiety of nurse academics in teaching unfamiliar subjects in undergraduate nursing education, Evidence-Based Nursing, January 2025, BMJ,
DOI: 10.1136/ebnurs-2024-104233.
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