The role of the personal tutor: a literature review

This paper comprises an extensive review of the literature surrounding the role of the personal tutor, which was conducted prior to an evaluation of t he personal tutor system used within my own institution. There is agreement in the literature that student support is an important f unction of the nurse lecturer, but there is currently no consensus as to th e most appropriate system of providing this support. Three distinct aspects of the personal tutor role emerged from the literature and are discussed i n this paper: Clinical role Pastoral role Academic role. Few research studies were identified in the literature search; this highlig hts the need for nurse lecturers to evaluate the effectiveness of support s ystems currently in place. There is also a need to undertake further resear ch studies, in order to provide the evidence needed by nurse lecturers to d etermine the most appropriate model for student support. (C) 2001 Harcourt Publishers Ltd.