Working with nurse educators' collective wisdom: implications for recruitment and retention

Very few studies have been undertaken to consider the impact of nurse education environments on faculty retention and recruitment at a time when numbers of nursing faculty are falling to significantly low levels. The purpose of this article is to deconstruct nurse educators' experience, illuminate what nurse educators think is important to a quality work environment, and offer some critical questions that lead to the potential for change. The findings of this study suggest recruitment and retention of nurse educators are best addressed by a critical reexamination of organizations. Paying attention to what nurse educators believe is a quality work environment is a starting point for the process of deconstruction and reconstruction. This study contains compelling information that speaks to nurse educators' experience in what they believe is important in their workplace.