Statistical analysis along with observation confirms there is currently a shortage of nursing faculty. The recruitment and retention of clinical experts to the faculty role is a challenging task. It is imperative that faculty in the early stages of their career are embraced and mentored into the role of the professional nurse educator. This aspect of retention is the responsibility not only of the nurse leader, but also of existing faculty to ensure a healthy, productive environment for faculty newly hired as well as faculty in various years of employment. One proven strategy to enhance retention in nursing education is the use of mentoring programs. By incorporating the mentoring framework with Boykin and Schoenhofer’s theory of nursing as caring, the process for orientation and support for early career faculty can be enhanced.

The purpose of this study was to identify the perceptions of early career faculty having experienced the mentoring model based on nursing as caring along with a formal orientation process. The research design for this study was phenomenological in an attempt to discover the lived experiences of the participants as they assumed the role of nurse educator in this setting. The participants were given five open-ended questions pertaining to their experiences transitioning to the role of the nurse educator, and the assistance of their assigned mentor. The qualitative data was compiled and common themes isolated.