Abstract

Healthcare is facing a crisis related to a shortage of nurses. One of the most alarming factors regarding this shortage is the lack of academic nurse educators (ANE). The problem addressed in this study was the shortage of ANEs due to obstacles in the role transition process. The theoretical framework used was the nurse educator transition theory which connected well with this study as this theory focuses on stages of ANE role transition. Two research questions were used that identified perceptions of best practices in role transition of ANEs and best strategies in retention. Participants were early-career ANEs with 1 to 5 years of education experience that have either a master's or doctorate in nursing or education. Semi-structured videoconferencing interviews of 11 participants along with retrieval of documentation and archival records from three different nursing programs in the eastern region of Tennessee were analyzed. Data was coded utilizing NVivo software, and seven themes emerged. Participants felt that best practices for role transition were clear role expectations, structured orientation, and purposeful mentoring. They felt that long-term mentoring, professional development, socialization, and administrative support were the best strategies for retaining ANEs. The recommendations for practice are a detailed orientation process, utilizing evidenced-based practice mentoring models, and academic administration being an integral part of the role transition process. The recommendations for future research include replicating the study with a larger sample size and a different region of the United States, replicating with a different participant criterion, or replicating with a phenomenological approach. Demographics and a focus group could be added to strengthen the study. Finally, a mixed-methods methodology with a correlation design could be utilized to improve this study by determining relationships between multiple variables.

Description

This dissertation has also been disseminated through the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database. Dissertation/thesis number: 30316689; ProQuest document ID: 2892483866. The author still retains copyright.

Joelle L. Wolf

Author Details

Joelle L. Wolf, PhD, MSN, RN, CMSRN, CNE

Sigma Membership

Rho Iota

Type

Dissertation

Format Type

Text-based Document

Study Design/Type

Case Study/Series

Research Approach

Qualitative Research

Keywords:

Role Transition Process, Professional Development, Education Experiences, Nurse Educators

Advisors

Shaw, Melanie

Degree

PhD

Degree Grantor

Northcentral University

Degree Year

2023

Rights Holder

All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record.

All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository.

All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.

Review Type

None: Degree-based Submission

Acquisition

Proxy-submission

Date of Issue

2024-08-07

Full Text of Presentation

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