Findings From a Program to Support Full-Time Nursing Faculty in Doctoral Education

Saturday, March 28, 2020: 9:55 AM

Elizabeth Austin, PhD, MA, RN, CEN, CNE
Hayley D. Mark, PhD, FAAN
Kathleen T. Ogle, PhD, RN, FNP-BC, CNE
Department of Nursing, Towson University, Towson, MD, USA

Purpose: The need to increase the supply of doctorally prepared nursing faculty in the United States is a well-documented issue. Many nursing programs currently employ as full-time faculty, masters prepared nurses who might be interested in obtaining a doctoral degree, but are confronted with multiple obstacles. The purpose of this paper is to report on the first year findings of a grant-funded program that provides course release time and mentoring for full-time faculty in doctoral programs. The intent of the program is to encourage nursing faculty to return to school by reducing barriers to doctoral education including time, funding and mentoring.

Out of a total faculty of 32 at a major metropolitan university in the mid-Atlantic region, seven participate in the program (22%). The group is comprised of experienced, master’s prepared clinicians who are currently employed as clinical faculty members. The group is diverse, including 43% African Americans and, 14% male. The majority of the group are enrolled in DNP programs (77%) with the remainder in PhD programs in nursing and the doctoral programs span four states. Each faculty in the program is released from teaching one course per semester in exchange for successful progression in a doctoral program. A state grant pays for two full-time visiting instructors to cover these course releases. Participants are informed of multiple local and national opportunities for tuition coverage. Finally, the faculty-scholars were assigned a mentor specifically for their process. The mentor is an experienced, PhD prepared and tenured faculty member who is able to provide guidance on specific issues related to courses and faculty issues such teaching, evaluation, committees, promotion, and retention within the department and university. The group and the mentor meet formally four times during the year.

Methods: A focus group was conducted at the end of year one.

Results: Findings included the substantial value of peer support and faculty mentoring. Other findings including the importance of financial assistance for returning to school and information provided about opportunities for funding and scholarship.

Conclusion: Full-time nursing faculty derive considerable benefit from course-release time, peer support, and mentoring to guide transitions for clinical faculty into academic roles.

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