Transitional Experiences: From Clinical Nurse to Nurse Faculty

A limited pool of nurse faculty has affected enrollment of nursing students and the ability to produce the nursing workforce needed for the evolving health care system. The experiences clinical nurses face as they transition to the faculty role may contribute to the faculty shortage.

A qualitative descriptive study was conducted to explore the lived experiences of clinical nurses as they entered the nurse faculty role. A purposive sample was recruited from two higher learning institutions in the midwestern United States. Data analysis was performed using Colaizzi's method.

Four themes emerged: Perpetual Novice, Faculty as a Resource, Teaching Ambiguity, and Student as My Patient. The prominent theme surrounded the idea that the faculty were in a state of constant change as a perpetual novice.

Implications exist for academic nursing program administration to invest in developing nurse faculty skill level and ease the transition to the role. [J Nurs Educ. 2019;58(5):260-265.].