25: TODAY, TOMORROW, AND IN THE FUTURE ■ 563the complex practice of nursing and reconnect with the practice context of the nurs-
ing discipline. The DNP- prepared educator with advanced clinical knowledge and
educational foundation to address these critical issues noted in the Carnegie Study.
Furthermore, the study recommended that nursing educators make four shifts in their
thinking about teaching and in their approaches to fostering student learning for the
future:
1. From a focus on covering decontextualized knowledge to an emphasis on teaching for
a sense of salience, situated cognition, and action in particular situations
Many faculty organize their classes around lists of abstract theory, giving their
students little or no indication about how to integrate the knowledge they
present into practice. Nursing faculty should help students learn to apply
nursing knowledge and science.
2. From a sharp separation of clinical and classroom teaching to an integration of the
two
Traditionally, there has been a sharp divide between classroom and clinical
teaching. When faculty provide only simple, rudimentary examples or test
students on elemental competencies, they may not be helping students to pre-
pare for diverse, complex, real- life, stressful clinical situations.
3. From an emphasis on critical thinking to an emphasis on clinical reasoning and mul-
tiple ways of thinking
Critical thinking alone cannot develop students’ perceptual acuity or clinical
imagination. Clinical imagination, which requires students to grasp the nature
of patients’ needs as they change over time, is needed, as well as critical, crea-
tive, and scientific reasoning.
4. From an emphasis on professional socialization to an emphasis on formation
Experiential learning environments across the nursing curriculum are needed
to support formation. Nursing education must focus on the formation of pro-
fessional identity rather than on socialization (Benner et al.).When one ponders the radical transformation that will be required for nursing
education in the 21st century, the authors assert that the reconstruction of nursing
education and a reconnection to practice will only be achieved by a diverse group of
doctoral- level faculty, namely the nurse scientist, educator clinician, and clinician educa-
tor. The doctoral advanced nursing practice– trained educator is well suited to integrate
the classroom content and the practice context. An innovative DNP program curricu-
lum is needed that truly combines the practice emphasis with education- related content
and their practical integration. Case Western Reserve University is one exemplar of this
combined approach with a specific track in educational leadership for advanced prac-
tice nurses. The AACN has not yet endorsed the practice of the educator in the same
way it has embraced the practice of the clinical executive within the design of the DNP
degree; however, there is a greater recognition of the need for faculty competencies. As
academics, we do not appear to value the faculty role when education- related content is
elective. We are facing a critical nursing faculty shortage that will impact the profession
and health of our nation. It is incumbent on us to let go of time- honored traditions, such
as the current nursing education model that separates theory from practice, the need
for extensive clinical practice before matriculating in doctoral programs, and the heavy
teaching and service requirements of research- intensive doctoral- prepared faculty in
order to move the discipline forward (Tilden & Potempa, 2003). Furthermore, the nurse
educator role needs to be included in all doctoral programs in order for the nursing
profession to meet current and projected nursing shortages. In our opinion, the AACN