This study aimed at understanding the reality of being a clinical nurse who works with nursing students while they develop their care experience in the clinical practice. The research was carried out by means of a phenomenological approach. Nine clinical nurses were interviewed and based on their discourses four categories of concretely experienced events were identified and interpreted according to Maring Heidegger's philosophical reference. Among the categories emerging from those discourses, this article highlights the following: being a nurse with students in their educational process, and the possibility of being with private and public university students. These aspects are presented here in order to encourage reflections on their important participation of clinical nurses in the education of future nursing professionals.