Transition From Expert Clinician to Novice Faculty: A Blueprint for Success

Mentoring Experiences of New Nontenured Faculty in Undergraduate Nursing: A Qualitative Study

BACKGROUND

Mentoring is crucial for professional development and retention of newly hired nurse faculty, yet little is known about the actual mentoring experiences of clinical nurses in their first few years following transition into academic teaching.

METHOD

Individual semistructured interviews were conducted with 23 full-time nontenure-track faculty from 10 higher education institutions in seven states in the United States. All of the faculty were in the first 3 years of teaching in 4-year undergraduate nursing programs.

RESULTS

Five themes emerged: (1) chaotic work environments characterized by unpredictable workloads, absence of reliable support, and inconsistent access to information; (2) a de facto do-it-yourself system in which nurses pieced together their own support; (3) reliance on personal social networks; (4) yearning for real mentorship; and (5) future plans about staying in the role.

CONCLUSION

A gap exists between widely touted recommendations about mentoring and the reality of mentoring for newly hired nontenure-track faculty. [J Nurs Educ. 2024;63(8):525-532.].

Intent to leave academia: perceptions and challenges of nurse faculty

BACKGROUND

The shortage of nursing faculty is a significant global issue affecting the nursing profession. Faculty turnover can negatively impact the institution by decreasing the number of qualified nursing faculty and disrupting the educational process. The cost of replacing departing faculty and recruiting and training new faculty may increase.

PURPOSE

To describe perceptions of nursing faculty of intentions to leave academia and to identify challenges that contribute to nurse faculty turnover in academic setting.

METHOD

A descriptive naturalistic, qualitative approach is used to explore nurses perceptions and intentions to leave academia.

RESULTS

The themes identified were unexpected journey, with two sub-themes, lack of role clarity and lack of preparation/orientation, and work environment, with four sub-themes: low Salary, workload, lack of support and favoritism.

CONCLUSION

The urgency of addressing the factors that contribute to nurse faculty intending to leave academia cannot be overstated. The results of this study have direct implications for nursing schools' administrators, where these findings can provide them with, valuable insights that they can be used to implement best practices and mitigate the problem of nursing faculty turnover.

Strategies for transitioning from a clinical position to a faculty role

The nation faces a continued shortage of nurses that is projected to worsen in the next decade. The nursing shortage is fueled by a lack of faculty to educate nurses for entry into practice and advanced nursing practice positions. Many faculty enter academia after achieving expertise in a specialty area of clinical practice. These expert clinicians transition to novice faculty, a move that can be challenging and overwhelming. New faculty require guidance in understanding the various academic regulatory organizations; university structure, policies, and regulations; faculty responsibilities related to the university missions of teaching, service, practice, and scholarship; and face challenges with the need for new skills such as classroom management, curriculum development, and an understanding of the different culture and language of academia. The authors provide evidence from the literature and strategies and tips based on their experience for an expert clinician's successful transition from a clinical role to an academic position.

"Finding My Place in Academia": Understanding the Experiences of Novice Faculty

BACKGROUND

The current nursing faculty shortage rapidly has expanded the need to hire faculty. New faculty are clinical experts in their own practice; however, many lack formal knowledge about the academic setting, making the transition from practice to academia difficult.

METHOD

A qualitative descriptive study was developed to identify how new faculty transition into their academic positions. The sample consisted of 12 clinical nursing faculty participants.

RESULTS

A total of 12 themes emerged: awful day as faculty, career plans, compensation, finding my place in academia, great day at clinical, "I wanted to be successful," preparation for the faculty role, struggling, student experiences, support, lack of support, and surprise. Finding ways to recruit and retain qualified faculty is imperative.

CONCLUSION

Inadequate support for transitioning to the faculty role may contribute to faculty turnover; developing a strong mentoring program may help retain qualified faculty. [J Nurs Educ. 2023;62(8):433-442.].

Mentoring novice nurse educators: Goals, principles, models, and key practices

Nurses who transition from clinical practice to nursing education practice is often had trouble and experience transition shock. Academic nurse leaders (ANLs) should proactively address the transition concerns of novice nurse educators (NNEs) to reduce dissatisfaction and turnover rates. NNEs can be eased into their new roles through mentoring activities and programs. ANLs or senior nurse educators mentor the NNEs in the many different aspects of academia. This paper discusses the goals, principles, models, and key practices in mentoring NNEs. ANLs should intentionally design mentoring programs that enhance the sense of efficacy, competence, and satisfaction of the NNEs in their new role. Mentoring programs for NNEs can use several models to achieve these desired outcomes. The integration of key practices could improve outcomes achievement. Ensuring that schools of nursing have adequate numbers of qualified nurse educators is essential in addressing the nursing shortage.

Easing the transition from nurse clinician to nurse educator in Ghana: Exploring novice nurse educators' perspectives

AIM

To explore novice nurse educators' perspectives on easing the transition from nurse clinician to nurse educator in Ghana.

DESIGN

A descriptive qualitative study.

METHODS

In total, 12 novice nurse educators (NNEs) were recruited from three health training institutions in the Upper East Region of Ghana. Between June and August 2020, individual in-depth interviews were conducted using a semi-structured interview guide. The audio-recorded interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed manually using thematic analysis.

RESULTS

Four themes emerged: mentoring, orientation to educator role, pedagogical preparation and postgraduate studies. To ease the transition, NNEs stressed on developing individual mentoring programmes to mentor novices before they start to teach. They endorsed the development of college-specific orientation programmes to orientate novices before they assume full teaching roles. Participants also urged nurse clinicians to obtain pedagogical preparation and postgraduate degree before moving into academia or immediately after being employed.

Strategies Adopted by Novice Nurse Educators to Facilitate Their Transition From Practice to Academia: A Qualitative Study in Ghana

Introduction

The successful transition of nurses from clinical practice to academia is essential to the training of a proficient future nursing workforce. However, deprived of requisite support and guidance, novice nurse educators often find the transition from bedside nursing practice to the classroom challenging and hence, adopt some coping strategies to facilitate their transition. Yet, little is known about the strategies adopted by Ghanaian novice nurse educators to facilitate their transition.

Objective

This study explored the strategies adopted by novice nurse educators to facilitate their transition from practice to academia in three nursing training colleges in Ghana.

Methods

This study adopted a descriptive qualitative study design. The study used a purposive sampling technique to recruit 12 novice nurse educators. Data were generated through individual in-depth interviews using a semistructured interview guide. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed manually through thematic analysis.

Results

Novice nurse educators adopted a wide range of strategies to facilitate their transition from practice to academia. Four major themes emerged: (1) seeking support from peers, (2) attending workshops and conferences, (3) relying on performance appraisal and feedback, and (4) applying past clinical nursing knowledge.

Conclusion

The strategies adopted to facilitate the transition were mostly self-inspired and informal, which calls for more formal and evidence-based strategies to facilitate the transition process. College authorities must create, or adopt and modify faculty mentorship models to mentor novice nurse educators, develop and implement college-specific orientation programmes for novice nurse educators, and implement regular online tutor appraisals by students.

What do novice faculty need to transition successfully to the nurse faculty role? An integrative review

OBJECTIVES

The objective was to describe and illustrate what is known about the needs of novice nursing faculty as they transition into the faculty role. The worldwide nursing shortage is partly due to the lack of faculty, and one reason for that lack is the reported difficulty of transitioning into the faculty role.

METHODS

An integrative review of the literature was conducted.

RESULTS

Results demonstrated that new faculty are either intentionally supported in their new environment, with successful development of their skills and career, or they are unintentionally unsupported, which leaves them languishing and reduces intent to stay.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite gaps in the literature and a low level of strength of evidence, the review offers implications for managing and maintaining relationships with novice faculty to facilitate their ultimate success. Institutions should aim to have in place identified elements that ensure novice faculty are intentionally supported rather than unintentionally unsupported.

Improving Teamwork and Communication in Schools of Nursing: A Quality Improvement Approach Using TeamSTEPPS

BACKGROUND

Teamwork training has been identified as an intervention to promote collaboration, improve communication, and reduce conflict. While teamwork training has been implemented in the clinical setting, most schools of nursing are lacking in standardized teamwork training programs.

LOCAL PROBLEM

A lack of teamwork, poor communication, and deficient conflict resolution skills among faculty and staff was impacting the ability to form supportive relationships in the interest of working collaboratively.

METHODS

This quality improvement (QI) project examined perceptions of teamwork at 3 points over 18 months.

INTERVENTION

Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety (TeamSTEPPS) was adapted for the academic setting and used for the intervention.

RESULTS

Results indicated significant improvement in Team Structure, Leadership, and Communication. Situation Monitoring and Mutual Support were identified for continued development.

CONCLUSION

Results suggest that a QI intervention using TeamSTEPPS improved teamwork, communication, collaboration, and conflict resolution in one academic setting.

Making their way as academics: A qualitative study examining how nurse academics understand and (re)construct academic identity

OBJECTIVES

This study aims to explore the way in which nurse academics understand and (re)construct their academic identity.

DESIGN

An exploratory qualitative approach was adopted.

METHODS

Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 nurse academics who were employed in positions requiring both research and teaching in two New Zealand university nursing schools. Participants' demographic information and critical career incidents were also collected. Interview data were analysed thematically.

RESULTS

Nurse academics understand their academic identity as research-related, relational and dynamic. Although their academic identity can be in conflict with their clinical one, the former is (re)constructed as an extension of the latter. To navigate each university's multiple expectations of academics, nurse academics in this study strive to maintain their engagement with teaching, research and clinical practice, although in some cases, clinical practice is reconceptualised in relation to teaching and researching rather than direct contact with patients.

CONCLUSION

Academic identity development is fluid and interdependent on that of clinical identity in this young and vocationally-based discipline. There is an interrelated, dual process of identity (re)construction - while (re)constructing academic identity, nurse academics also reshape and redefine their clinical identity. The trajectory of their identity development challenges institutions to consider the needs of nurse academics (and others in similar disciplines) by recognising and supporting the maintenance of a form of clinical currency in order to strengthen the discipline within the academy.

Becoming a Transformative Nurse Educator: Finding Safety and Authenticity

The study purpose was to evaluate and strengthen this program's nursing education curriculum to better prepare and develop future nurse faculty. As the dire nursing faculty shortage increases, the transition of expert nurse clinician to novice educator is receiving more attention. In order to prepare, recruit, and retain the nursing faculty needed to meet the growing nurse shortage, understanding what nurse educators need in order to be successful is essential. Fourteen participants from four focus groups of nurse educators shared stories about their role transition. Two administrators were interviewed to determine what they identified as crucial in hiring new nurse educators. Interpretive analysis focused on identification of themes and possible paradigm cases. Themes that emerged included: a) culture of academia surprises, b) exciting "Aha!" moments, and c) Safety with a capital "S". These findings were used to strategically revise the entire nurse educator curriculum.