Nursing academic administration: who will take on the challenge?

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Academic Administration
• Faculty Development

Background:

• A shortage of qualified candidates exists for nursing academic administration roles.
• Understanding faculty motivations is crucial for addressing this shortage.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore factors influencing nursing faculty to pursue administrative positions.
• To identify barriers and motivators for entering nursing academic administration.

Main Methods:

• Survey administered to nursing academic administrators and full-time faculty at US private colleges and universities.
• Utilized Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI) and custom questionnaires on recruitment and career aspirations.
• Data collected from administrators (LPI-Self, recruitment questionnaire) and faculty (LPI-Observer, career aspiration questionnaire).

Main Results:

• 63% of faculty respondents would not consider positions with greater administrative responsibility.
• Workload and conflict were identified as significant deterrents to pursuing administration.
• Increased challenge, influencing organizational change, facilitating faculty development, and a mix of administration with teaching were identified as motivators.
• Additional coursework beyond the highest degree significantly increased faculty interest in administrative roles.

Conclusions:

• Nursing academic administration requires strategies to overcome faculty reluctance.
• Recommendations include providing leadership development, managing workload and conflict, and leveraging identified motivators.
• Addressing these factors can enhance the pipeline for nursing academic leaders.