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 the personal tutor system used within my own institution. There is agreement in the literature that student support is an important function of the nurse lecturer, but there is currently no consensus as to the most appropriate system of providing this support. Three distinct aspects of the personal tutor role emerged from the literature and are discussed in this paper:* Clinical role* Pastoral role* Academic role. Few research studies were identified in the literature search; this highlights the need for nurse lecturers to evaluate the effectiveness of support systems currently in place. There is also a need to undertake further research studies, in order to provide the evidence needed by nurse lecturers to determine the most appropriate model for student support.