Areas of satisfaction and challenges to success of mid-career nurse scientists in academia

Mentoring in Academic Nursing From the Perspectives of Faculty Mentors

AIM

The aim of this study was to create a theoretical framework that describes how mentoring relationships in academic nursing unfold from the perspectives of nurse faculty mentors.

BACKGROUND

Mentoring is a strategy that can promote the satisfaction and retention of nurse faculty. Although research has focused on the experiences of protégés in mentoring relationships, little is known about mentoring from the perspectives of nurse faculty mentors.

METHOD

Constructivist grounded theory was used to interview 24 experienced nurse faculty about their mentoring experiences.

RESULTS

The theoretical framework Growing Together: Mentors' Perspectives on Mentoring included four phases (getting together, getting going, going together, going beyond) and three strands (relationship with protégé, work of mentoring, emotional impact of mentoring).

CONCLUSION

Participants experienced a variety of benefits from mentoring while also experiencing a variety of challenges. Findings suggest that more resources are needed for experienced faculty who mentor novice nurse faculty.

Building Family Interventions for Scalability and Impact

Family nursing researchers are charged with addressing the conceptual and methodological underpinnings of family research when developing family-focused interventions. Step-by-step guidance is needed that integrates current science of intervention development with family science and helps researchers progress from foundational work to experimental work with policy integration. The purpose of this manuscript is to provide pragmatic, evidence-based guidance for advancing family intervention research from foundational work through efficacy testing. Guidance regarding the development of family interventions is presented using the first three of Sidani's five-stage method: (a) foundational work to understand the problem targeted for change; (b) intervention development and assessment of acceptability and feasibility; and (c) efficacy testing. Each stage of family intervention development is described in terms of process, design considerations, and policy and practice implications. Examples are included to emphasize the family lens. This manuscript provides guidance to family scientists for intervention development and implementation to advance family nursing science and inform policy.

Career development of doctorally prepared nurses

AIM

To integrate research literature regarding careers, career development and factors influencing the career development of doctorally prepared nurses.

DESIGN

An integrative review.

DATA SOURCES

Medline, CINAHL and Embase were searched in June 2022 without time restrictions.

METHODS

Peer-reviewed empirical publications written in English with different types of study designs were included. Two researchers independently applied eligibility criteria, selected studies and conducted quality appraisals using Joanna Briggs checklists. Data were extracted and analysed using a convergent integrated approach with thematic analysis. Themes were established within three categories based on the research questions: career, career development and factors influencing career development.

RESULTS

Twenty-two studies were included. Nine themes were identified. One theme regarding careers describes that doctorally prepared nurses need to prioritize work within different positions. The two themes focusing on career development described the need to determine career goals after the doctorate and further develop competencies. Six themes described factors influencing career development: 'Intrinsic motivation to improve health care and nursing education', 'Available support sources', 'Professional development programmes', 'Work-life balance', 'Organizational infrastructures for career advancement' and 'Competition and hostile treatment among colleagues'.

CONCLUSION

Limited knowledge of the careers and career development of doctorally prepared nurses was found. Doctorally prepared nurses need to balance work with various part-time positions. Careers and career development could be supported by the development of structures for career advancement as well as supportive working environments.

IMPACT

Doctorally prepared nurses with strong careers are important to health care and nursing as they generate and implement new knowledge into clinical practice and thereby support the improvement of (nursing) care and patient outcomes. This study provides considerations towards strengthening the careers of doctorally prepared nurses.

REPORTING METHOD

PRISMA.

PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

No Patient or Public Contribution.

Strategies to Strengthen Nursing PhD Enrollment: An Ecological Systems Perspective

BACKGROUND

Nurses with a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree are essential to developing nursing knowledge, promoting health outcomes, and educating the next generation of nurses. Declining enrollment in nursing PhD programs calls for purposeful action. Guided by Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Framework, this article outlines barriers and facilitators, and offers strategies to increase PhD enrollment.

METHOD

Extant literature and the authors' cumulative experiences in PhD education and research were reviewed to identify strategies to increase PhD enrollment.

RESULTS

Multilevel influences impede or facilitate enrollment in PhD programs. Strategies addressing individual and interpersonal influences included intentional personalized recruiting and early outreach to students at various levels of education. Institutional and organizational strategies included research partnerships and programs, and financial and infrastructure support. Sociocultural strategies included image branding and a positive social media presence supporting nurse scientists.

CONCLUSION

Strategies to enhance PhD enrollment across all levels can spark interest in nursing science and PhD enrollment. [J Nurs Educ. 2023;62(12):669-678.].

Demographic Differences in Satisfaction and Work-Life Balance of Prelicensure Nursing Faculty

BACKGROUND

A need exists to recruit and retain nursing faculty of differing generations, races/ethnicities, and genders.

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study was to examine whether generational cohort, race/ethnicity, and gender predicted job satisfaction, life satisfaction, or work-life balance for full-time faculty teaching in prelicensure, baccalaureate nursing programs.

METHODS

Faculty (N = 363) from multiple schools of nursing in the United States completed a survey that included demographics, the Job Satisfaction Scale, the Satisfaction with Life Scale, and the Work-Life Balance Self-Assessment.

RESULTS

Significant relationships and differences were noted for nursing faculty. Faculty of color reported lower job and life satisfaction than their White counterparts.

CONCLUSIONS

As calls to increase diversity among nursing faculty increase, continued research should focus on differences in the experience of faculty of color.

Exploring alternative forms of scholarship for nurse educators' success

BACKGROUND

Teaching-intensive universities require faculty to have increased teaching workloads. Nursing faculty have additional burdens that faculty members in other disciplines and departments do not experience, making it difficult to produce scholarship as it has been traditionally defined in research-intensive universities. Teaching-intensive universities should begin to rethink nursing faculty expectations for meeting their universities' missions of scholarship, especially those required for tenure.

PURPOSE

This article discusses alternative forms of scholarship and to generate ideas beyond the gold standard of writing peer-reviewed manuscripts and conducting empirical research studies for teaching-intensive universities. It also explores challenges that hinder nursing faculty from scholarly work and offers various scholarship ideas for nursing faculty and nursing administrators to consider for promotion and tenure criteria.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Nursing administrators and faculty can change the current culture through a reconceptualization of Boyer's scholarship model in which more innovative forms of scholarship are embraced to support nursing faculty in balancing the multiple demands on their time according to their respective institutional needs. The outcome is increased work-life balance and retention of nursing faculty. Deans' support and faculty advocacy for human resources and financial investment in faculty workload boundaries are key factors for future changes in practice.

Work stress and perceived organisational support on young Korean nurses' care for COVID-19 patients

Background

Since the outbreak of COVID-19 worldwide, frontline nurses have faced tremendous stress. Younger nurses in their early-to-mid careers can be more exposed to burnout and work stress, and perceived organisational support can influence the quality of nursing care for vulnerable patients.

Aim

To identify the impact of younger nurses’ work stress and perceived organisational support on their willingness to care for COVID-19 patients.

Methods

The cross-sectional secondary data analysis included 211 hospital nurses (<35 years) in South Korea with a mean age of 24.60 years (SD=1.90). Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to identify the factors influencing willingness to care.

Findings

Supplying personal protective equipment, training in the use of personal protective equipment, lower work stress, and positive perceptions of organisational support significantly increased early-career nurses’ willingness to care. For mid-career nurses, being male and higher work stress significantly increased their willingness to care.

Discussion

Support, including COVID-19-related education or training, should be provided to reduce work stress arising from being exposed to infection or while providing care to critically ill patients, especially among early-career nurses. Support from nurse managers, senior staff, and colleagues could help younger nurses cope better with the challenges of COVID-19, thus increasing their willingness to care.

Conclusion

Perceived organisational support may facilitate early-career nurses’ organisational commitment. Healthy work environments can relieve early-to-mid-career nurses’ work stress, thus facilitating patient-centred care.

Strategies to enhance the success of mid-career nurse scientists

BACKGROUND

The mid-career nurse scientist, defined as an associate professor with/without tenure, is often faced with a multitude of challenges and opportunities PURPOSE: This paper shares strategies to assist mid-career scientists as they juggle required career demands and navigate the mid-career phase in pursuit of the rank of full professor.

METHOD

A review of the literature was performed on mid-career nurse scientists.

DISCUSSION

A combination of increased research responsibilities, increased institutional teaching and service demands, and dwindling support can result in a sense of overwhelm and burnout. The mid-career nurse scientist must balance several balls in the air at one time to remain successful.

CONCLUSION

Strategies aligned with the Ecological Framework, focus on intrapersonal, interpersonal, institutional, organizational, and public policy domains to provide a wide scope of strategies that target the mid-career scientist and engage the larger nursing community.

The perceived reality and environment of the mid-career nurse scientist

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE

A qualitative study was designed to explore facilitators and barriers to success from the perspectives of self-identified mid-career nurse scientists.

METHODS

Data were collected from 84 respondents using open-ended items as part of an electronic survey of self-identified mid-career nurse scientists who were members of regional nursing research societies.

DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION

Two main themes emerged: "Perceived Realities" and "What's Needed to Achieve Career Success." Mid-career nurse scientists experience both joy from teaching and research roles and dissatisfaction with research support; difficulty balancing heavy teaching workload, administrative responsibilities, and research, and ineffective mentoring. Based on the challenges in their environment, respondents identified numerous ways to enhance career success including (1) increasing or enhancing release time for research activities, (2) formal infrastructure to support research activities, and (3) targeted, effective mentoring by senior scientists.