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Updated: Jan 19, 2026
Using Learning Outcome Measures to assess Doctoral Nursing Education
Published on: June 21, 2010
The Role of Interdisciplinary Faculty in Nursing Education: A National Survey
Shelly Smith1, Beth L Elias2, Marianne Baernholdt1
1Virginia Commonwealth University, School of Nursing, School of Nursing Building, Sadie Heath Cabaniss Hall, 1100 E Leigh Street, Richmond, VA, United States of America.
Background:
The role of interdisciplinary faculty in schools and colleges of nursing has evolved over time. Historically, integration of interdisciplinary faculty into nursing education was as experts in non-nursing content and to fill a gap created by the lack of doctorally prepared nurses. In the 1980s, Lenz and Morton surveyed Departments, Schools and Colleges of Nursing to explore the role of interdisciplinary faculty in nursing education.
Purpose:
Our study adapted Lenz and Morton's work to examine new trends in faculty composition, while also considering the evolution in nursing education, including the integration of doctor of nursing practice (DNP) prepared faculty.
Results:
Differences in enrollments, programs offered, and number of faculty and faculty composition were observed between 1988 and 2017. In 1988 the most common disciplines represented were nutrition, education and psychology, while in 2017 the most common disciplines were pharmacology, statistics and biological sciences. The current study shows a decrease of 15% in interdisciplinary faculty educating nursing students, although this finding may be related to differences in sampling techniques.
Conclusions:
Integration of interdisciplinary faculty has the potential to enrich nursing education by bringing in a depth of specialized knowledge from other disciplines. Further faculty role-modeling successful interdisciplinary collaboration is another way to prepare nurses for team-based patient care which is an imperative skill in today's health care arena.
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