The role of nursing unit managers in educating nurses.

This paper presents the findings of a work sampling study undertaken in New South Wales (Australia) to ascertain the amount of time spent by nursing unit managers directly educating nurses. The results indicate that they spend very little time in teaching, traditionally one of their role tasks. It is argued that their teaching at unit level should focus on their role as leader, mentor, preceptor and coach. This role shift needs to be articulated to managers and nurses to minimise confusion over the role and to ensure that direct teaching is placed into the hands of expert clinicians.