Professional boundaries are required to protect one’s self and others from intentional or unintentional harm. The issues of boundaries have been discussed in the literature in regards to the doctor and patient, psychologist and client and nurse-patient relationship. However, little research exists on the nurse faculty-student relationship and the appropriateness or inappropriateness of various teacher-student behaviors. The purpose of this quasi-experimental pilot project was to examine nurse faculty perceptions of appropriate professional behaviors between nursing faculty and their students after attending a faculty development workshop on professionalism and faculty-student boundardies.
Perceptions from N = 9 nursing faculty regarding specific faculty behaviors were collected and measured pre-and post-educational intervention utilizing a survey questionnaire. The behaviors described in the questionnaire were representative of the most common issues that nursing faculty struggle with (Henshaw, 2008; Tabachnick, Keith-Spiegel & Pope, 1991). Results indicate that the faculty development workshop (intervention) did not have a significant impact on nurse faculty perceptions. These results could be contributed to the small sample size which included experienced faculty (> 5 years in teaching), or participants already having a good understanding of professional nurse faculty behavior and professional boundaries prior to the workshop as demonstrated by lows scores on the pretest indicating that participants perceived more than 50% of the 19 behaviors as 1= never appropriate.
Participants attributed their knowledge regarding professional nurse faculty behaviors to professional standards for educators (100%), professional standards for nurses (100%), training (89%,) and educational preparation (89%). When institutions of higher education take the initiative to educate, train and prepare their staff in through mentoring, coaching, faculty development workshops briefing, huddles and debriefing, they are protecting their employees, students, the institution and society from the harmful effects of unprofessional behaviors that may occur in nurse faculty-student relationships.
Purpose:
The purpose of this quasi-experimental pilot project was to examine nurse faculty perceptions of appropriate professional behaviors between nursing faculty and their students after attending a faculty development workshop on
professionalism and faculty-student boundaries.
Methods:
Perceptions from N = 9 nursing faculty regarding specific faculty behaviors were collected and measured pre-and post-educational intervention utilizing a survey questionnaire. The behaviors described in the questionnaire
were representative of the most common issues that nursing faculty struggle with.
Results:
Results indicate that the faculty development workshop (intervention) did not have a significant impact on nurse faculty perceptions. These results could be contributed to the small sample size which included experienced faculty (> 5 years in teaching), or participants already having a good understanding of professional nurse faculty behavior and professional boundaries prior to the workshop as demonstrated by lows scores on the pretest indicating that participants perceived more than 50% of the 19 behaviors as 1= never appropriate.
Conclusion:
Participants attributed their knowledge regarding professional nurse faculty behaviors to professional standards for educators (100%), professional standards for nurses (100%), training (89%,) and educational preparation (89%). When institutions of higher education take the initiative to educate, train and prepare their staff in through mentoring, coaching, faculty development workshops briefing, huddles and debriefing, they are protecting their employees, students, the institution and society from the harmful effects of unprofessional behaviors that may occur in nurse faculty-student relationships.