Opportunities to improve mentorship of underrepresented minority nurse faculty on the tenure track: A Delphi study

Mentorship is essential for supporting doctorally prepared nurses transitioning into academic roles and for addressing the escalating nurse faculty shortage.

The objective of this study was to gain consensus on barriers, facilitators, and metrics of successful mentorship of doctorally prepared underrepresented minority (URM) nurse faculty.

A Delphi panel of doctorally prepared URM nurse faculty in the United States was convened. In Round 1, respondents answered open-ended questions identifying barriers, facilitators, and success metrics. In Round 2, participants rated their agreement using a 5-point scale. Round 3 included a focus group discussion.

The Round 1 survey was distributed to 107 URM nurse faculty, with 35 responses (32.7% response rate). Twenty-three of those participants completed Round 2 (65.7% retention). Top-ranked metrics included progress on milestones aligned with individual development plans and quality of mentor-mentee engagement.

This study underscores the importance of relational factors in effective mentorship.