Paper
Monday, November 5, 2007
509
Voices of Experience: Lessons Learned from Nurse Educators
Linda A. Streit, RN, DSN, CCRN1, JoEllen Dattilo, RN, PhD1, and M. Kathleen Brewer, PhD, RN, CNS2. (1) Georgia Baptist College of Nursing of Mercer University, Atlanta, GA, USA, (2) School of Nursing, University of Kansas, Kansas City, KS, USA
| Learning Objective #1: describe “lessons learned” by experienced educators and how these lessons can assist the novice educator. |
| Learning Objective #2: discuss four themes identified within the study which reveal aspects of practicing as a nurse educator. |
As there continues to be growing disparity between the number of nursing applicants and the number of available nursing faculty members to teach, the very essence of the professional education of nurses becomes a major issue of concern. Many qualified applicants continue to be denied admission due to the faculty shortage. The question arises regarding how can members of academe entice nurses to consider a career in nursing education? Despite somewhat obvious differences in salaries between the academic sector and those in practice areas, it begs the question “Why do nurses decide to become educators?” Strategies which would encourage qualified individuals to consider a career in nursing education would somewhat alleviate the restrictions placed on the number of admitted students. The purpose of this descriptive phenomenological study was to explore experienced baccalaureate nurse educators perspectives about their role. All participants had a minimum of ten years, full-time, nurse educator experience in both the classroom and clinical setting in public or private institutions. All participants held a masters’ degree in nursing or higher degree. Faculty had recent educator experience during the last academic year. An audio-taped interview or a written narrative was completed. Several open-ended questions were posed about their role experiences. The questions were designed to glean insights and practical wisdom from experienced faculty about the role of a nurse educator. Several open-ended questions were posed about their role experiences. Van Manen’s procedural steps were used to for data analysis. Ultimately, there were four emergent themes: a) Being passionate about what you do, b) being harmonious, c) being invested in relationships, and d) believing in self and others. Subthemes were also identified within each of the areas. Possibly their insights, guiding suggestions, and lessons learned will influence novice and potential faculty to select this professional path.