The purpose of this presentation is to present a hybrid orientation model utilized to assist with the transition of nurse clinicians to a part time clinical faculty role and to discuss outcomes of the program.
A shortage of nurses and nurse educators continues to present a global health problem with potential critical consequences. The World Health Organization (WHO, 2014) projects a world wide nursing deficit of 12.9 million by 2035. Multiple factors are associated with the nursing shortage including a lack of qualified nursing faculty. Nursing schools in the United States turned away 64,067 qualified applicants from nursing programs in 2016 due in part to an insufficient number of faculty (American Association of Colleges of Nursing [AACN], 2017). A national nurse faculty vacancy rate of 7.9% was reported by AACN (2017). In an effort to address the faculty shortage many schools of nursing have increased the use of part time or adjunct faculty.
Accrediting regulatory bodies, state or country specific education, and practice experience requirements for part time/adjunct faculty vary. Typically part time positions are filled by nurses working in clinical settings with varied years of clinical practice experience. Novice educators are often expected to assume the nurse educator role with minimal to no additional educational preparation (Sorrell & Cangelosi, 2015). The transition from expert clinician to a nurse educator role may present challenges for the novice educator including feelings of stress, role uncertainty, frustration and decreased satisfaction. Part time faculty that report feeling supported, valued, mentored and included in the culture of the school express a desire to continue to teach part time (Carson, 2015). In an effort to retain part time clinical faculty a formal educational orientation and mentoring process should be offered. (Summers, 2017).
Methods:
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a hybrid approach to orient, mentor, and support part time clinical faculty. A pre-post design method was utilized. Part time clinical faculty were asked to complete a voluntary anonymous baseline needs assessment and demographic data survey. The investigators used the needs assessment data in the planning and development of the orientation program that included a face-to-face and an online orientation education program. The WHO (2016) Nurse Educator competencies were utilized in the program planning and implementation process with a focus on the clinically based concepts. Prior to the start of the semester, part time faculty are required to attend a onsite six hour orientation. The onsite orientation includes basic information related to the university, nursing school, course requirements and the clinical agencies. The orientation program allows for new faculty to interact with a large number of peers in an effort to increase networking and to promote a culture of belonging. Following the onsite orientation participants are required to complete an online asynchronous orientation course that includes 5 modules covering adult learning principles, characteristics of learners, interpersonal issues, evaluation methods, and clinical faculty responsibilities. Following the completion of the online course, participants were asked to voluntarily complete a post course survey.
Results:
The sample consisted of part time clinical faculty, 20 who completed the baseline needs assessment and 18 who completed the post course survey. More than half of the participants reported educational preparation with a master’s degree (70%, n = 14), followed by baccalaureate degrees (15%, n = 3), and doctoral preparation (15%, n = 3). Participants had a least three years nursing practice experience, and 80% (n = 16) of the participants reported greater than six years experience. Participants reported wide arrays of nursing specialties: medical surgical (20%, n = 4), pediatrics (30%, n = 6), obstetrics (10%, n = 2), critical care/emergency room (25%, n = 5), surgical (operating room) (5%, n = 1), and public health nursing (10%, n = 2). Forty percent (n = 8) reported this to be their first semester teaching a clinical course, and 55% (n = 11) reported past clinical teaching experience.
At baseline, the majority of participants (80%, n =16) reported attending formal orientation. Only 25% (n = 5) of the participants reported formal education that included adult learning principles at baseline; however, 77.8% (n =14) incorporated the adult learning principles in clinical instruction post online clinical faculty orientation.
Blackboard Learn® is learning platform used for online instruction and course management. The majority of participants (75%, n = 15) reported experience with Blackboard Learn® at baseline, however 100% (n =18) reported utilizing Blackboard Learn® post online clinical faculty orientation. Participants reported the following increases from baseline post online clinical faculty orientation for the course management system: announcement creation (31.1%), assignment creation (26.6%), ability to access student assignments for grading (41.1%), grading rubrics utilization (40%), accessing embedded university resources (46.7%), sending emails to students (36.6%), and adding/managing users (14.5%).
Improvements were also noted in the following post online clinical faculty orientation: attendance of clinical orientation at the university’s school of nursing (29.4%), visiting/introducing self to clinical unit prior to rotation (23.9%), assigning a scavenger hunt on the clinical unit on first day (16.1%), and incorporating QSEN competencies into clinical instruction (30.6%). However, very little change was seen with the post survey (1.7% increase) for individualizing teaching strategies based on the generational traits of students. Lastly, reported part time clinical faculty employment expectations advanced in the following: navigation of the university’s chain of command (31.1%), conducting post conference during clinical rotations (42.2%), employing strategies for special student situations, e.g. defiant behavior (33.9%), completion of student evaluations (31.7%), providing student feedback (42.8%), teaching in a simulation environment (24.4%), and teaching in the clinical setting (27.2%).
Conclusion:
While clinical expertise is a critical prerequisite competency for nurse educators, specific competencies distinct from clinical practice are necessary to meet the role of a nurse educator ( Billings and Halstead, 2016). The findings from this study illustrate vast improvements in the majority of the educator competencies, thus supporting the use of a hybrid model of orientation for novice educators. The data suggests a need for additional opportunities for part time clinical faculty to master the critical educator competencies of evaluating students, conducting post conferences, and individualizing teaching strategies based on student learning needs. Based on these findings, future university endeavors include assigning experienced faculty to provide direct support and mentorship through clinical visits.