Background: Clinical nurse educators (CNEs) play an essential role in onboarding and educating staff nurses; however their role lacks clarity and recognition, in part due to a lack of conceptual clarity.Purpose: To report a principle-based concept analysis of the CNE.Methods: We conducted a principle-based concept analysis using a phased qualitative approach.A librarian-assisted search of CINAHL, PsycINFO, Medline, ProQuest Nursing & Allied Health, and ProQuest Dissertations & Theses identified English-language studies published from 2014 to 2024 on CNEs in acute care hospitals.Of 4,213 records, 2,338 remained after duplicate removal.Following screening and full-text review, 52 articles were appraised and 19 highly relevant studies were included.Data were deductively coded using epistemological, pragmatic, linguistic, and logical principles and analyzed with reflexive thematic analysis.Discussion: The CNE is an evolving concept marked by role ambiguity, inconsistent terminology, and blurred boundaries with other nursing roles.Despite this, CNEs are consistently associated with education, practice support, orientation, evidence-informed practice, and professional development.
Read et al. (Mon,) studied this question.