Authors

  1. Aktan, Nadine M. PhD, RN, APN-BC

Article Content

Nursing is a practice discipline. While balancing teaching, scholarly endeavors, and service commitments, academics struggle for time to completely immerse themselves into the culture of nursing practice. As a result, models such as faculty practice have evolved. It is typical for nursing professionals to maintain currency by attending conferences and participating in webinars or other continuing education activities. A sabbatical in clinical nursing practice provides a way for faculty to keep up-to-date in practice. Direct clinical practice is the most effective way to gather knowledge in nursing science. Nursing professionals are recognized for their abilities to solve complex health care challenges in innovative ways. We are poised to provide solutions by working alongside all members of the multidisciplinary health care team. The nurse educator of today is charged with preparing the graduate of tomorrow to engage in thoughtful, constructive, evidence-based strategies to manage care. A sabbatical to enhance clinical practice is an innovative strategy to improve both nursing education and clinical nursing practice. Acquiring skills on the current standards of care and best practices is essential. A sabbatical where the academic nurse educator engages in a structured, clinical rotation concentrated in nursing or advanced nursing practice addresses these challenges. After these efforts, the seasoned educator is then uniquely positioned to disseminate knowledge gained and enhance curricula, which positively impacts the quality of nursing education and health care outcomes.