Mental health nursing: transitions from practice roles to academia

Mentoring students in doctoral nursing programs: A scoping review

BACKGROUND

Academic mentorship usually involves an ongoing, supportive relationship between experienced academics and research candidates, and is fundamental to establishing and nurturing scholarship and the skills for dealing with the changing demands of the academic environment. Mentoring is a valuable strategy for the development of students enrolled in doctoral nursing programs (Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing - PhD, Doctor of Nursing Practice - DNP, Doctor of Nursing Science - DNS, and Doctoral Education in Nursing - EdD).

PURPOSE

To report mentorship experiences among doctoral nursing students and academic mentors, identify positive and negative attributes of mentors and the relationship between mentors and students, and assess the benefits and barriers of mentoring.

METHODS

Relevant empirical studies published until September 2021 were identified using PubMed, CINAHL and Scopus electronic databases. Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed method studies published in English language which reported on mentorship among doctoral nursing students were included. Data were synthesized into a scoping review with findings presented as a narrative summary.

RESULTS

The review included 30 articles, mostly from the USA, which reported on the mentoring relationship, experiences, benefits, and barriers of mentoring for the student and the mentor. Students valued mentor attributes such as being a role model, respectful, supportive, inspiring, approachable, accessible, a content expert and a good communicator. Benefits of mentoring included enhanced experience of research endeavours, scholarly writing and scientific publication, networking support, improved student retention, timely completion of the project, and career readiness, as well as developing one's own mentoring skills for future mentoring of others. Despite the identified benefits, there are a number of barriers related to mentoring including access to mentorship support, limited mentoring skills among faculty, and lack of compatibility between students and mentors.

CONCLUSIONS

This review highlighted students' expectations versus their reality of mentoring, which suggested areas for improvement in mentoring doctoral nursing students, in particular the need for mentorship competency, support, and compatibility. Additionally, there is a need for more robust research designs to understand the nature and characteristics of mentorship programs for doctoral nursing students and to assess the expectations and wider experiences of mentors.

Investigating the work-life experiences of nursing faculty in Canadian academic settings and the factors that influence their retention: protocol for a mixed-method study

INTRODUCTION

While all research-oriented faculty face the pressures of academia, female faculty in fields including science, engineering, medicine and nursing, are especially susceptible to burnout. Nursing is unique in that it remains a predominantly female-dominated profession, which implies that there is a critical mass of females who are disproportionately affected and/or at higher risk of burnout. To date, little is known about the experiences of nursing faculty especially, new and early career researchers and the factors that influence their retention. This study aims to understand the work-life (the intersection of work with personal life) experiences of nursing faculty in Canadian academic settings and the factors that influence their retention.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

A mixed-method design will be used in this study. For the quantitative study, a sample of approximately 1500 new and early career nursing faculty across Canadian academic institutions will be surveyed. Eligible participants will be invited to complete a web-based structured questionnaire in both French and English language. Data will be evaluated using generalised linear regression model and structural equation modelling. Given the complexities of work-life issues in Canada, qualitative focus group interviews with about 20-25 participants will also be conducted. Emerging themes will be integrated with the survey findings and used to enrich the interpretation of the quantitative data.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

This study has received ethical approval from the Hamilton Integrated Research Ethics Board (#1477). Prior to obtaining informed consent, participants will be provided with information about study risks and benefits and strategies undertaken to ensure confidentiality and anonymity. The study findings will be disseminated to academics and non-academic stakeholders through national and international conference presentations and peer-reviewed open-access journals. A user-friendly report will be shared with professional nursing associations such as the Canadian Associations of Schools of Nursing, and through public electronic forums (e.g., Twitter). Evidence from this study will also be shared with stakeholders including senior academic leaders and health practitioners, government, and health service policy-makers, to raise the profile of discourses on the nursing workforce shortages; and women's work-life balance, a public policy issue often overlooked at the national level. Such discussion is especially pertinent in light of the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on women, and female academics. The findings will be used to inform policy options for improving nursing faculty retention in Canada and globally.

Preparing for the transition from clinical practice to academia

Although education is an essential component of good nursing practice, clinical practice proficiency does not equate to competence in academia. Expert clinicians are not automatically expert educators. However, more and more academic institutions are relying on full-time clinicians to assume academic teaching positions. The decision to transition from clinical practice to academia requires careful consideration of numerous personal and professional issues. The purpose of this brief overview is to offer insight and guidance for nursing professionals embarking on this journey.

Student feedback on teaching: some issues for consideration for nurse educators

In this paper, we outline some key points about student feedback for nurse educators to consider. For nursing students, providing feedback offers an opportunity to communicate whether relevant and effective learning has occurred. Given the importance of student feedback for the quality of learning and teaching, and the significant resources invested in it, it is essential that accurate feedback is obtained and responded to by nurse educators. The aim of this paper, therefore, is to present an overview of factors influencing the quality and reliability of student feedback of their theoretical and clinical learning experiences, and ways the feedback might be used by educators for improving teaching and career enhancement. Nurse educators need to be prepared to respond to well-intentioned feedback without undue defensiveness to ensure good and effective teaching. Ultimately, feedback systems that are well managed should benefit nursing students, nurse educators and their respective institutions.

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.

Ethical conduct in nurse education: creating safe staff-student boundaries

This article synthesises principles and ideas from relevant literature on professional boundaries and applies them to higher education settings with the intention of contributing to contemporary debates on appropriate, respectful, and ethical conduct in academia. This is against a background of structural changes and growing complexity of academic institutions in concert with decreasing adherence to rules of conduct and established privileges historically handed down from traditional universities. The professional and personal conduct of nurse academics is increasingly unfettered in association with 'market' forces and simultaneously more available for scrutiny in association with a greater awareness of and institutionalisation of human rights and protections across all sectors of society.