Attitudes about faculty practice, perceptions of role, and role strain

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Academic Practice
• Faculty Role Perception

Background:

• The integration of clinical practice within nursing faculty roles is a critical determinant of educational quality and faculty well-being.
• Understanding faculty and dean perceptions is essential for optimizing academic environments and addressing potential role strain.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the differences in perceptions between practicing and non-practicing nursing faculty and deans concerning clinical practice.
• To assess the impact of clinical practice on faculty role importance, teaching effectiveness, scholarly productivity, and role strain.

Main Methods:

• A survey was administered to 292 nursing faculty and 53 deans to gather data on their beliefs and opinions.
• Respondents ranked the importance of faculty responsibilities and the difficulty of fulfilling them.
• Statistical analyses were employed to test hypotheses regarding differences between faculty groups.

Main Results:

• Practicing nursing faculty assigned higher importance to clinical practice compared to non-practicing faculty and deans.
• Practicing faculty perceived that clinical involvement enhanced their teaching effectiveness and scholarly output.
• Despite lower prioritization of research, practicing faculty reported reduced role strain and increased confidence in other faculty roles.

Conclusions:

• Active clinical practice by nursing faculty is associated with improved teaching effectiveness and scholarly productivity.
• Engaging in clinical practice may mitigate role strain and enhance overall confidence in the nursing faculty role.
• The findings highlight the value of clinical engagement for nursing faculty development and job satisfaction.