Nurse educators are expected to engage and interact with each other on a professional level, while concurrently serving as role model of professional behavior for nursing students. Communication in academia is more than just standing in front of students and lecturing. Skilled communication provides a level of authenticity which promotes a level of trust between faculty members and students. Just as in the clinical setting, hand-off occurs in the academic setting. Faculty must communicate effectively with one another regarding student progression and performance. Skilled communication is also necessary for true collaboration between faculty members. True collaboration involves the three “C’s”: communication, coordination and cooperation. Often there are limited number of faculty to serve a large student population. Therefore, these three elements are necessary to ensure a fulfilling academic experience for the student while maintaining collegiality among nurse educators.
Effective decision making is the foundation of strategic problem solving. For example, faculty engage in collaboration when curricular revisions are necessary. Through healthy debate, research of existing evidence and simple brainstorming, educators can choose a format best suited to meet the needs of both students and educators.
Meaningful recognition is more than giving a trophy to everyone on the team; it is the ability to give constructive feedback in addition to accolades. In today’s educational environment, with a multi-generational student population, educators must apply different techniques to validate student accomplishments and work ethic. Meaningful recognition is more than giving an "A" to a student, it is recognizing a job well done. Meaningful recognition among faculty is based on assessing each other’s level of experience and area of expertise when making teaching assignments. Placing people in their area of strengths promotes satisfaction and success.
Authentic leadership emphasizes setting clear expectations and encourages responsibility. To be an effective leader, you must first know how to follow. Authentic leaders know how to engage both faculty and students. A characteristic of successful leaders is being self-aware and having the ability to recognize their own strengths and weaknesses.
To promote a healthy work environment in the clinical setting, it must be modeled and taught in the academic setting. By demonstrating the impact and importance of AACN’s six standards to students before they venture into the clinical setting, and having students apply the standards throughout their nursing education, schools of nursing will graduate nurses better equipped to ensure a healthy work environment.