The shortage of doctorally prepared nursing faculty: a dire situation

Experiences of new tenure-track PhD-prepared faculty: a scoping review

The purpose of this scoping review was to assess the state of the literature concerning the experiences of new PhD-prepared tenure-track faculty, with a keen interest in nursing faculty. Effective recruitment and retention strategies for new nursing academic faculty need to be found and implemented. A literature review based on Arksey and O'Malley's five-stage framework for scoping reviews was undertaken. Using the PRISMA protocol, a systematic literature search was conducted in seven databases of studies published in English. Based upon inclusion criteria and relevance, 13 studies out of 90 papers were included in this study. Themes identified from the studies were transitioning to academia, developing a research program, balancing work and life, and perceived inequity. The research was predominately American and Canadian based. Several gaps in the literature were identified. Further research is critical to make recommendations to key stakeholders for recruitment and retention strategies.

Interventions to boost enrollment in nursing doctor of philosophy (PhD) programs

BACKGROUND

Nursing Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) enrollments are languishing, and little is known about PhD enrollment strategies that may lessen nursing's PhD shortage.

PURPOSE

This study examined strategies for bolstering PhD enrollments or enrollment intentions among college students and graduates.

METHODS

An integrative review was undertaken using Whittemore and Knafl's methodology and Garrard's Matrix Method. Nine databases were searched, and a hand search was conducted.

FINDINGS

Strategies were predominantly situated in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. Features of successful strategies contained core components of faculty mentoring, hands-on research, funding and compensation, undergraduate participation, summer timeframe, informational sessions, and social support.

DISCUSSION

Less rigorous study designs and mostly STEM samples inhibit the transferability of these strategies to nursing. Qualitative research is needed to better understand nursing students' perspectives about the PhD. Additionally, current PhD enrollment strategies within nursing schools need to be systematically evaluated and the findings disseminated.

Unique experiences of direct entry BSN/BS-PhD nursing students: A Delphi study

BACKGROUND

Given the aging nursing education workforce and the persistent high demand for doctorally-prepared nursing faculty, there is a critical need to increase the number of nurses entering and completing PhD programs. To fill this need, accelerated PhD education pathways, such as the direct entry BSN/BS-PhD education pathway, have become popular.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study was to explore the unique characteristics of the direct entry BSN/BS-PhD student experience. This study defines and details the experiences of current and past direct entry BSN/BS-PhD students.

DESIGN

This was a qualitative, descriptive study.

SETTING

Web-based journals and feedback.

PARTICIPANTS

Our sample includes four former and current direct entry BSN/BS-PhD students.

METHODS

We used the Delphi method to first analyze participants' journal entries on their lived experiences, and then iteratively summarize and classify the experiences into summative themes.

RESULTS

We found four themes unique to participants' experiences: commitment to science, nursing identity, exploring prospects, and balancing family and student expectations.

CONCLUSIONS

To ensure that BSN/BS-PhD students have a high-quality education, nurse leaders should be aware of the unique perspectives of direct entry BSN/BS-PhD students. Results from this study can be used to evaluate BSN/BS-PhD programs from students' perspectives.

Precepted Experiences for Doctoral Student Nurses

Across many levels of nursing education, mentored experiences are an essential part of learning. To enhance understanding, learning, and comfort for those new to professional roles, experienced and skilled professionals provide motivation while teaching professional skills, demonstrating technical competence, and displaying behavior expected of a professional. Educator preparation topics such as curriculum development, evaluation, and lesson planning are not typically included in PhD programs, leaving PhD students feeling unprepared to teach (Hudacek & Carpenter, 1998; Ivey, 2007). The lack of educator pedagogy forces nurse faculty members to learn on the job (Gardner, 2014; Oermann, 2017). Preceptorships are among the faculty role development opportunities not commonplace for aspiring nurse educators; these opportunities for PhD students to observe and model nurse educators have been noted as limited (Gardner, 2014). Experts have called for more educator-focused learning experiences and preceptorship opportunities in PhD programs (National League for Nursing Board of Governors, 2002; Oermann, 2017). The purpose of this article is to describe a creative approach to introducing nurses enrolled in doctoral programs to the faculty role within the academic setting.

What deters nurses from participating in web-based graduate nursing programs?: A cross-sectional survey research study

BACKGROUND

A graduate degree is required of nursing faculty in America. Because of the nursing faculty shortage, web-based graduate nursing programs are being offered to encourage nurses to return to school. The identification of deterrents to participating in these programs is an important step in increasing enrollment.

OBJECTIVE

To identify deterrents to participation in web-based graduate nursing programs.

DESIGN

Descriptive survey research.

SETTING

Louisiana

PARTICIPANTS

Two hundred and eighty-one registered nurse members of the Louisiana Nurses' Association.

METHODS

The 54-item four-point Likert-type interval scale Deterrents to Participation in Web-Based Graduate Nursing Programs Survey Instrument was used. Data were collected over 8weeks using SurveyMonkey.com to administer the web survey tool to all members of the Louisiana State Nurses' Association.

RESULTS

A factor analysis revealed a three-factor solution that explained 55.436% of the total variance in deterrents to participation in web-based graduate nursing programs. The factors were labeled "concerns about quality, cost, and time," "concerns about access to resources: technological and personal," and "concerns about electronic mediated communication." Multiple regression analysis revealed an overall model of three predictors of deterrents to participation in web-based graduate nursing programs: no computer literacy, annual household income between 20,000 and 50,000 dollars, and having the current educational status of graduating from a diploma RN program. This model accounted for 21% of the variance in the deterrents to participation scores.

CONCLUSIONS

Since these three significant predictors of deterrents to participation in web-based graduate nursing programs were identified, web-based nursing graduate program administrators might consider an outreach to RN diploma graduates in an effort to make them aware of available technology support programs to foster participation. Scholarships for lower income nursing students are recommended, and programs to support computer literacy within the nursing community should be considered.

Academic Leadership Development: A Case Study

A dean at a private school of nursing implemented a leadership development program for early- to mid-career nursing faculty consisting of one 4-hour evening session per academic quarter for 7 quarters. Eight faculty members who had expressed interest in assuming a leadership role or been recommended by their supervisors as having strong leadership potential were invited to join. Program topics included leadership pathways, legal issues, budgeting and governance, diversity, the political arena, human resources, and student issues. Interviews with participants revealed 6 themes: the support a peer cohort provided, a desire for real-life application, a lack of previous exposure to related content or experiences, new perceptions of themselves as academic nurse leaders, the value of the program as preparation for academic nursing leadership roles, and broad program applicability.

The quality of doctoral nursing education in South Africa

Background

The number of doctoral programmes in nursing has multiplied rapidly throughout the world. This has led to widespread concern about nursing doctoral education, specifically with regard to the quality of curricula and faculty, as well as to the availability of appropriate institutional resources. In South Africa, no study of these issues has been conducted at a national level.

Objective

To explore and describe the quality of nursing doctoral education in South Africa from the perspectives of deans, faculty, doctoral graduates and students.

Method

A cross-sectional survey design was used. All deans (N = 15; n = 12), faculty (N = 50; n = 26), doctoral graduates (N = 43; n = 26) and students (N = 106; n = 63) at South African nursing schools that offer a nursing doctoral programme (N = 16; n = 15) were invited to participate. Data were collected by means of structured email-mediated Quality of Nursing Doctoral Education surveys.

Results

Overall, the graduate participants scored their programme quality most positively of all the groups and faculty scored it most negatively. All of the groups rated the quality of their doctoral programmes as good, but certain problems related to the quality of resources, students and faculty were identified.

Conclusion

These evaluations, by the people directly involved in the programmes, demonstrated significant differences amongst the groups and thus provide valuable baseline data for building strategies to improve the quality of doctoral nursing education in South Africa.

Association of faculty perceptions of work-life with emotional exhaustion and intent to leave academic nursing: report on a national survey of nurse faculty

The current and projected nurse faculty shortage threatens the capacity to educate sufficient numbers of nurses for meeting demand. As part of an initiative to foster strategies for expanding educational capacity, a survey of a nationally representative sample of 3,120 full-time nurse faculty members in 269 schools and programs that offered at least one prelicensure degree program was conducted. Nearly 4 of 10 participants reported high levels of emotional exhaustion, and one third expressed an intent to leave academic nursing within 5 years. Major contributors to burnout were dissatisfaction with workload and perceived inflexibility to balance work and family life. Intent to leave was explained not only by age but by several potentially modifiable aspects of work, including dissatisfaction with workload, salary, and availability of teaching support. Preparing sufficient numbers of nurses to meet future health needs will require addressing those aspects of work-life that undermine faculty teaching capacity.

Assessing nursing student intent for PHD study

BACKGROUND

Nursing faculty shortages threaten a country's ability to produce the amount of nurses necessary to sustain the delivery of healthcare services. Programs that "fast track" graduate education options for registered nurses are one solution to the problem.

OBJECTIVES

To (1) evaluate admission criteria into PhD programs for direct entry from a bachelor's degree; (2) ascertain bachelors and masters degree nursing students' perspectives on pursuing a BSN to PhD course of study; (3) clarify factors that influence students' decision-making processes behind pursuing a PhD and identify characteristics of those who would be likely recruits for PhD study; 4) to test the survey questions to develop an instrument for future use.

DESIGN

A cross-sectional pilot study.

SETTING

A nursing program at a large urban university in the United States of America with an enrollment of over 1400 students.

PARTICIPANTS

Currently enrolled bachelor's, master's, and doctor of nursing practice students.

METHODS

Students were sampled via a 10-question (including one open-ended question) electronic mail survey that included 1385 eligible subjects.

RESULTS

Among the 606 respondents (57% response rate), 63% were between ages 18 and 30 and 87% indicated that full tuition funding with a living stipend would make them more interested in pursuing a PhD. Current program track was a significant predictor of course of study and area of interest (p=.029). Analysis of the 427 respondents to the open-ended question revealed themes around "time" and "money" as the main barriers to study. The desire to gain clinical experience prior to PhD study was the third theme and an unanticipated finding.

CONCLUSIONS

The questionnaire offered some predictive ability for gauging intent to study for a PhD among bachelor's and graduate degree prepared nurses. The results do offer some suggestions for nursing workforce development to help address faculty shortages.

Cross-sectional online survey of research productivity in young Japanese nursing faculty

AIM

To investigate the factors affecting the research productivity of young nursing faculty in Japan.

METHODS

An online survey targeting young nursing scholars (aged ≤ 39 years) who were members of the Japan Academy of Nursing Science was conducted from October to November 2012. Of 1634 potential respondents, 648 completed the survey (39.7%), and 400 full-time faculty of a baccalaureate degree program were selected for the analysis. The numbers of English-language and Japanese publications in the past 3 years were regressed onto personal characteristics, such as academic degree and type of university.

RESULTS

The mean numbers of publications in English and Japanese in the past 3 years were 0.41 and 1.63, respectively. Holding a doctoral degree was significantly related to a higher number of publications in English and Japanese (e(β) = 5.78 and e(β) = 1.89, respectively). Working at a national university (e(β) = 2.15), having a research assistant (e(β) = 2.05), and the ability to read research articles in English (e(β) = 2.27) were significantly related to more English-language publications. Having the confidence to conduct quantitative research (e(β) = 1.67) was related to a larger number of Japanese publications. The lack of mentoring (e(β) = 0.97) and university workload (e(β) = 0.96) were associated with a lesser number of Japanese publications.

CONCLUSION

The research productivity of young nursing faculty appeared to be quite low. Strategies to enhance research productivity in young nursing faculty, such as encouraging the achievement of a doctoral degree or enrichment of research resources, should be undertaken.

Challenges to research productivity of doctoral program nursing faculty

The Institute of Medicine, responding to a national health care crisis and related nursing labor force concerns, has called for an increase in the proportion of registered nurses with baccalaureate or higher degrees to 80% and a doubling of the number of nurses with doctorates by 2020. Simultaneously, large numbers of senior faculty are starting to retire, whereas the movement of doctorally prepared nurses into academia is insufficient to replace them. Issues associated with the efforts of nursing programs to increase their capacity to respond to the Institute of Medicine's recommendations, particularly the effect on scholarly productivity among nursing faculty in doctoral programs, are examined in this article. Creative strategies for promoting scholarly productivity among doctoral program faculty are identified.

Five Years Later: Are Accelerated, Second-Degree Program Graduates Still in the Workforce?

This retrospective study explores the work activities of graduates from an accelerated, second-degree BSN program. There is documented growth in the number of accelerated, second-degree programs and the number of graduates from these programs. However, there are no published studies of whether or not these graduates are members of the workforce 5 years following graduation. This retrospective study found that the majority of the graduates are employed in nursing, and a large percentage have earned or are pursuing advanced degrees in nursing.

Learning through collaboration: the NEXus consortium as a winning collaborative

The Nursing Education Exchange (NEXus) is a consortium of academic doctoral programs in nursing, initiated in response to a national shortage of well-qualified nurse educators and the need to increase the number of doctoral faculty in nursing programs across the United States. The vision for the consortium was to use distance-accessible delivery methods to provide rural nurse educators and clinical nurses with access to quality doctoral programs in nursing while remaining in their home environments. In addition, smaller or newly established doctoral programs would be able to offer a wider variety of elective coursework without recruiting and hiring additional faculty, further decreasing their limited available resources. This article describes the initiation and implementation of a successful nursing education collaborative that has gained increasing influence across the country and is recognized by its acronym, NEXus.

The Study of Nursing Care project: back to the future for contemporary nursing research?

AIMS

  To discuss the Study of Nursing Care project, an initiative from the late 1970s in the UK. The article explores the impact of the Study of Nursing Care on nursing research, and considers to what extent it presents a useful model for contemporary nursing research.

BACKGROUND

  It is acknowledged internationally that the nursing academic workforce is ageing and dwindling. Many possible solutions are being debated with all agreeing that the next generation of evidence based nurse leaders is urgently required.

DATA SOURCES

  In this article, the authors survey existing workforce schemes, describe the Study of Nursing Care series, published in the 1970s, and draw on interviews and correspondence conducted in 2009 with four of the original Study of Nursing Care research assistants.

DISCUSSION

  The Study of Nursing Care project poses a potential response to academic workforce issues. This article discusses the evolution of the project, its methods and operation and considers its possible implications for contemporary practice. Implications for nursing.  The Study of Nursing Care model demonstrates the clear benefits of fully committed funding, a programmatic approach towards research development, and the importance of selecting the right kind of people for the work, in a national scheme.

CONCLUSION

  The authors argue that although the clinical outcomes it set out to achieve remain elusive, the project produced a cohort of nurse researchers who went on to give important leadership in nursing, including in nursing academia/research. A contemporary version of the Study of Nursing Care has important potential to generate the next generation of nurse researchers, and leaders, into the twenty-first century.

Growing an innovative faculty-driven management team in a distance-delivery NP education program: thinking outside the box to meet the nursing education and health needs of northern British Columbia, Canada

PURPOSE

The purpose of this article is to describe how one university in northern British Columbia (BC) dealt with the issues of nurse practitioner (NP) program administration in light of its geographic context.

DATA SOURCES

Reflections of the management team during the first 2 years of implementation of the faculty-driven approach.

CONCLUSIONS

Our experience reflects family NP (FNP) faculty shortages internationally, the challenge of attracting qualified candidates to centers outside the urban mainstream in today's competitive academic job market, as well as the need to develop NP faculty capacity in BC, Canada. The team management approach evolved organically, based on program need, available human resources, and the culture of the faculty. The team approach for program leadership and coordination is a good fit for this NP program.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

Implementing the team management approach has allowed the continuation of an NP program situated in a northern Canadian community that is consistent with the program's unique focus in preparing NPs to practice in often-underserved northern, rural, remote, and Aboriginal settings. While the approach provides for continuation of a quality program, it also ensures the availability of graduates well prepared to take up practice challenges in rural and northern communities.

Factors contributing to the shortage of nurse faculty: a review of the literature

There is an abundance of literature documenting the shortage of nurse faculty, both in Australia and internationally. This shortage has repercussions for the next generation of nurses, contributes to the overall nursing workforce shortage, and holds implications for the development of nursing research and continued practice development. The literature suggests a multitude of factors contributing to the shortage, including the ageing of current nurse faculty, and an undersupply of doctorally prepared nurses to take their place. To date, most nurse academics come from a clinical background with little preparation for the complex faculty role; despite this there is little exploration of their experiences transitioning to academia. The limited available evidence suggests that this new role may be accompanied by feelings of uncertainty, anxiety and isolation associated with changed responsibilities, an emphasis on scholarly activities and teaching, and the unique culture of the academic environment. The aim of this paper is to provide a critical review of the literature, identify issues relevant to the nurse faculty shortage and provide direction for further research.

Research to practice in occupational health nursing

Occupational health nursing research has gained a significant place in national and international nursing programs and has advanced occupational health nurses' understanding of the most effective ways to prevent occupational illness and injury, provide access to quality care for workers, and manage occupational injuries and return to work. This article describes the history of nursing research in general and highlights the current national shortages that must be addressed to ensure that nurses continue to impact the field. Occupational health nursing priorities are described and examples are given of nurse scientists who have established the foundation of occupational health nursing research and who illustrate varied expertise and the interdisciplinary context in which the work is conducted.

Nurse Practitioner preparation: is it time to move beyond masters level entry in Australia?

Nurse Practitioner education in Australia currently requires a post graduate qualification at masters level for endorsement by national registration bodies and entry into practice. This paper reviews the evidence and debate in America that saw the education of Nurse Practitioners advance to the doctoral level in 2004. Consideration will then be given to the similarities between the American and Australian context, in order to open the debate about whether it is timely for Australian universities to consider the need to advance Australia Nurse Practitioner education to the Doctor of Nursing Practice.

"If you haven't got a PhD, you're not going to get a job": the PhD as a hurdle to continuing academic employment in nursing

This paper is drawn from a larger study that sought to identify and examine issues around the employment of sessional academic staff in baccalaureate nurse education. Twelve sessional teachers and 12 continuing academics participated in the interviews. Examination of the data revealed the PhD was perceived as a hurdle to continuing employment in nurse education in the university sector. In the current climate, sessional teachers continue to be an essential part of the nursing academic workforce and are necessary to meet the teaching and learning demands associated with implementing nursing curricula. Findings suggest a need for scrupulous processes in relation to the recruitment of sessional staff, and highlight the difficulties that sessional teachers may have in securing continuing academic employment. We provide recommendations to facilitate the appointment of appropriate individuals into sessional roles and highlight the need to mentor and support sessional teachers wishing to pursue a career as nurse academics. Questions are raised about how nursing can plan for future academic workforce needs in a context of an aging academic workforce, the demand for doctoral training for nurse academics, and widespread casualisation of the nursing academic workforce.

Preparing the nursing workforce of the future

Nurse shortages coupled with the need for national healthcare reform present a challenge. We are not preparing enough nurses nor are we preparing nurses with the right skills to fully participate in a reformed healthcare system. Historical forces in nursing education have resulted in multiple levels of entry into nursing practice and an inadequate nursing workforce. Today's environment of expanding knowledge, the call for interdisciplinary healthcare delivery teams, and evidence of the relationship between nurse education and improved patient outcomes strongly indicate the need for nurses prepared at the baccalaureate level. Requiring a baccalaureate degree for entry into nursing practice, and as the initial degree of nursing education would prepare nurses earlier for graduate education and the much needed roles of educator, researcher and advanced practice nurse. The nursing profession should take the lead in advocating for educational policies that would adequately prepare the nurse workforce of the future.