An Academic Model for Building Effective Faculty Teams to Promote Excellence in Nursing Education

Abstract

As a result of the national movement to advance nurses at the doctoral level, and the concurrent shortage of nursing faculty, the role of the DNP prepared nurse in the academic setting continues to evolve. At our School of Nursing, the need to define, understand and utilize the various faculty roles led to the development and implementation of an Academic Model for Nursing Education. This mixed-method research study was conducted to identify the factors that contribute to an effective culture in academia. The findings from the survey and focus groups indicated our model had a positive association on instructional design, teaching, administrative processes, adjustments of college tenure and promotion, clinical partnerships, shared faculty teaching loads, and succession planning. Focus group findings included the unanticipated benefits of improved faculty engagement, empowerment, collaboration, and faculty mentoring. Our academic practice model is reflective of the changes already occurring in collaborative clinical pathways in healthcare systems. The expected benefits of our academic practice model and those occurring in healthcare share comparable outcomes. These may include improving nursing scholarship, patient and student outcomes, strengthening the position of nursing in organizations and the broader community through enhanced leadership, providing parity with other healthcare disciplines, and improving the overall image of nursing [1]. Our Academic Model for Nursing Education is reflective of current healthcare practices, addresses the nurse faculty shortage while promoting faculty collaboration and job satisfaction.