Scholarly productivity for nursing clinical track faculty

Recent years have yielded substantial advancement by clinical track faculty in cohort expansion and collective contributions to the discipline of nursing. As a result, standards for progression and promotion for clinical faculty need to be more fully developed, articulated, and disseminated. Our school formed a task force to examine benchmarks for the progression and promotion of clinical faculty across schools of nursing, with the goal of guiding faculty, reviewers, and decision makers about what constitutes excellence in scholarly productivity. Results from analyses of curriculum vitae of clinical professors or associate professors at six universities with high research activity revealed a variety of productivity among clinical track members, which included notable diversity in the types of scholarly products. Findings from this project help quantify types of scholarship for clinical faculty at the time of promotion. This work provides a springboard for greater understanding of the contributions of clinical track faculty to nursing practice.     

Strategies for successful promotion for clinical track nursing faculty

Successful promotion of faculty yields multiple benefits including career advancement, recognition for productivity and contributions to the organization, and an increase in financial compensation for the individual. In academic settings, particularly in research intensive institutions, time and resources often are focused on supporting tenure track faculty to be successful in obtaining promotion and tenure. Although most nursing programs have substantial numbers of clinical track faculty (CTF), there may be less emphasis around planning and resources for performing activities that will lead to successful promotion for nontenure track faculty. Consequently, at the time of initial faculty appointment, CTF must begin promotion planning. This paper provides practical advice for CTF preparing for promotion including planning the promotion trajectory and identifying and facilitating the collection of evidence supporting the areas of teaching, scholarship, practice, and service. Examples are provided of activities engaged in by CTF that would serve as evidence to support promotion.     

Clinical practice: an emphasis strategy for promotion and tenure

TOPIC: Emphasizing clinical practice in promotion and tenure materials. PURPOSE: To share a successful strategy centered on clinical practice with members of the tenure track, advanced practice nurse faculty. SOURCE: Published literature, author's experience. CONCLUSION: Creativity and planning can assist tenure track faculty members in emphasizing their clinical practice for promotion and tenure. Recognition and rewards for clinical practice beyond the school of nursing continue to be challenges in the larger univerisity.     

Mentoring Nurse Faculty: Outcomes of a Three-Year Clinical Track Faculty Initiative

Clinical track faculty often lack mentoring opportunities needed to develop their scholarship which may hinder their academic promotion. The Clinical Track Faculty Mentoring Initiative was designed to foster scholarship development and academic promotion of clinical assistant professors. Fifteen clinical assistant professors in two cohorts and their mentors participated in the Initiative. Each Cohort lasted two years with one overlapping year. Participating clinical assistant professors were required to attend five check-in meetings, a summer writing workshop, school and university promotion information sessions, and mentor-protégé meetings. Program outcomes were assessed quarterly and they included knowledge of promotion processes, mentorship quality, scholarship productivity, and academic promotion. Scores on knowledge of promotion processes and perceived mentorship quality among participating clinical assistant professors were significantly increased. Participating clinical assistant professors published, on average, 3.33 papers and delivered 6.4 presentations in two years. The Initiative demonstrated an effective mentoring program that incorporated a multimethod approach with clear program goals, strong systems support, and high mentorship quality.     

Promotion and Tenure for Community‐Engaged Research: An Examination of Promotion and Tenure Support for Community‐Engaged Research at Three Universities Collaborating through a Clinical and Translational Science Award

Introduction

Community‐engaged health research, an approach to research which includes the participation of communities, promotes the translation of research to address and improve social determinants of health. As a way to encourage community‐engaged research, the National Institutes of Health required applicants to the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) to include a community engagement component. Although grant‐funding may support an increase in community‐engaged research, faculties also respond to the rewards and demands of university promotion and tenure standards. This paper measures faculty perception of how three institutions funded by a CTSA support community‐engaged research in the promotion and tenure process.

Methods

At three institutions funded by a CTSA, tenure track and nontenure track faculty responded to a survey regarding perceptions of how promotion and tenure committees value community‐engaged research.

Results

Faculty view support for community‐engaged research with some reserve. Only 36% agree that community‐engaged research is valued in the promotion and tenure process.

Discussion

Encouraging community‐engaged scholarship requires changing the culture and values behind promotion and tenure decisions. Institutions will increase community‐engaged research and more faculty will adopt its principles, when it is rewarded by promotion and tenure committees.     

An application of nursing faculty practice: clinical camps

The incorporation of clinical practice into nursing faculty role expectations has triggered much debate. Despite the urge for the incorporation of practice into faculty roles, past research has demonstrated that the majority of faculties do not in fact include clinical practice. Reasons given for the failure of nurse academics to practice include lack of time, the failure of academia to value the practice, and the failure to include the practice as criteria for tenure and promotion. For faculty practice to occur it has been argued that clinical practice needs to be more a matter of individual intent: adaptable, and creative. Clinical camps provide potential opportunities for clinical practice for faculties. These camps, it is argued, offer the possibility of clinical teaching, promotion of collegial relationships between faculty and health care agencies, development of positive faculty-student relationships, and a valuable research site. For this reason, it is argued that clinical camps be considered a viable venue for faculty practice.     

An evaluation framework for faculty practice

Faculty practice is promoted in schools of nursing for the purposes of strengthening the clinical expertise of faculty, maintaining clinically relevant curricula, fostering student learning, and generating revenue. For clinical faculty, this practice often provides the foundation for academic scholarship. The integration of this scholarship into the traditional academic triad of education, research, and service has proved difficult. Pohl et al notes, "In promotion and tenure decisions, 68 percent of faculty reported that practice was weighted less than teaching and research in their institutions." There appears to be an inherent tension between the requirements for scholarly faculty practice and the academic missions of schools of nursing. The purpose of this article is to describe a framework for the evaluation of faculty practice at the Johns Hopkins University School Nursing (JHUSON) and the actions taken to align the scholarship of faculty practice with the academic research mission of the School.     

Cognitive dissonance experienced by nurse practitioner faculty

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explicate the concept of cognitive dissonance as experienced and reported by nurse practitioner (NP) faculty members. Data sources: Responses from NP faculty members to an online survey about their experiences with cognitive dissonance. Conclusions: The respondents detailed their experiences with cognitive dissonance, citing differences between expectations for which they are rewarded and those for which they are paid. Implications for practice: Expecting all faculty members to excel in practice, research, teaching, and service may create unrealistic workloads for NP faculty members. Examining expectations and considering creation of a clinical track for faculty who practice may be options administrators of NP programs might explore.     

Faculty practice: what do the data show? Findings from the NONPF Faculty Practice Survey. National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties

This article reports on the findings of the NONPF (National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties) Faculty Practice Survey regarding promotion and tenure. Relevant issues related to tenure for practicing faculty are identified and discussed. Faculty practice has become an increasingly important and complex issue for academic institutions in relation to promotion and tenure. The purpose of this article is to examine the role and patterns of practice among tenured and nontenured faculty in academic nursing institutions and the variables associated with faculty promotion and tenure in these institutions. METHOD: A survey was mailed to the membership of the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties to examine the differences between practicing faculty who were tenured and those who were nontenured and to identify predictors of tenure. A 50% response rate (N = 452) was obtained. Findings indicate that only 37% of the practicing faculty were tenured, and more than half (51%) reported that practice was not considered in promotion and tenure decisions at their institutions. The predictors of tenure included practice being considered in promotion and tenure and support for practice at the school of nursing level. Data on reasons faculty practice are also presented. Recommendations for including practice in promotion and tenure guidelines are discussed as well as the ramifications of administrative support for practice.     

Allocation of time in three academic specialties

A survey was done to: 1) characterize the allocation and distribution of time by tenure track emergency physicians, and 2) compare the time distribution of emergency physicians to two other academic disciplines. All emergency medicine residency programs were surveyed by telephone to determine if faculty were eligible for tenure and if tenure was available, how many hours per week were spent on clinical duties, research, and administrative tasks. Similar information was compiled from cardiology and orthopedic surgery faculty at the same universities. Data from the survey revealed that a tenure track assistant professor spends 23 hours (46%) working clinical shifts in the emergency department; 11 hours (20%) doing research and 18 hours (34%) in administrative tasks. In contrast, cardiologists spend significantly more time in clinical duties (32 hours) and research (18 hours). However, cardiologists spend significantly less time in administrative duties (10 hours). Data for orthopedic surgeons show a similar pattern. Distributions within each academic discipline were also analyzed and a significant difference in research time was found between four tenure track emergency medicine programs and the other eighteen. Data from this survey may help academic emergency physicians evaluate how they are allocating their time in comparison to other busy clinical specialties.     

Nursing faculty practice in the Houston Linkage Model: administrative and faculty perspectives

The authors describe a model for the development and implementation of faculty practice, focusing on administrative and faculty parameters of concern in its establishment. Administrative parameters include mission and purpose, benefits to nursing education and nursing service, contractual arrangements, legal issues, use of revenues, and evaluation. The case example illustrates faculty concerns and mentorship, maintenance of clinical skills, patient care, facilitation of research for promotion/tenure, and benefits.     

Clinical track faculty: merits and issues.

Clinical track faculty (CTF) has been in operation for more than two decades in the United States, and 12 of the top 20 schools of nursing with the highest National Institutes of Health funding in the United States have CTF in place. Yet, only limited articles have been published regarding the merits and issues related to its operation. This article examines the advantages/merits of establishing CTF in schools of nursing, discusses the qualification criteria and types of appointment for CTF, and analyzes issues related to operating CTF in Korea. A questionnaire survey and two workshops were conducted involving faculty from a college of nursing and clinical nurse managers from university-affiliated medical centers and community agencies. Most of the respondents indicated that establishing CTF was advantageous. Merits included the following: increasing reality-based clinical education and training; decreasing the reality shock of students; increasing student satisfaction; and linking education, practice, and research more effectively. Major issues were as follows: getting the approval of medical centers/universities; developing an agreement on CTF operation between the college of nursing and clinical agencies; clarifying types and criteria of appointment and promotion; and developing a statement on role and compensation policies. Most issues are similar to what U.S. schools of nursing have faced, except for the first one. In conclusion, establishing CTF in Korea appears to be highly desirable. Merits outweigh issues/concerns, and Korean nursing schools may look for an opportune time for obtaining the approval of medical centers/universities. Nursing schools in other countries that face a similar challenge of providing clinical teaching with high research performance may consider instituting CTF.     

Faculty practice as a requirement for promotion and tenure: receptivity, risk, and threats perceived

The purpose of this study was to determine the receptivity of nurse faculty to the proposal of adding faculty practice as an additional requirement for promotion and tenure and to investigate the perceived risk and threats from introduction of this proposal. Factors that affect the risk faculty perceived are examined. Nurse educators from all faculty ranks in public nursing programs in 15 states in the southern region of the United States served as subjects for this study (N = 280). Findings indicate that nurse faculty are more receptive than resistant to the proposal requiring faculty practice as a requirement for promotion and tenure. A high negative correlation exists between receptivity to the proposal and the risk faculty perceived from implementation of the proposal A measure of the threat to job prerequisites correlated moderately with the risk faculty perceived from the proposal, with specific threats and benefits perceived by faculty identified. Implications for administrators and faculty are discussed.     

Nursing faculty practice: benefits vs costs

The transfer of nurse education from the hospital setting to the university sector has increased the dichotomy between theory and practice. Nurse academics have been exploring methods of maintaining clinical competence and credibility through organizational structures such as faculty practice. Faculty practice is a formal arrangement which exists between a clinical setting and a university which allows nurse academics to consult and deliver client care resulting in research and scholarly outcomes. The most important advantage of faculty practice is its potential to contribute to nursing knowledge and validate theories through the use of reflective practice and professional Journalling by nurse academics which can help demystify and analyse the intricate elements of nursing. Other advantages of faculty practice are described as improving student's learning and client care through the application of an advanced knowledge base and facilitation by a faculty member. It also facilitates communication with clinical staff and assists in the professional development of nurse academics. The major barriers which need to be addressed to facilitate faculty practice are the allocation of time in the nurse academic's workload which incorporates consultation and faculty administrative support and the recognition of promotion and tenure process of universities.     

Using a faculty evaluation triad to achieve evidence-based teaching

Aneffective and comprehensive faculty evaluation system provides both formative and summative data for ongoing faculty development. It also provides data for annual faculty evaluation and tenure and promotion decision making. To achieve an effective system, a triad of faculty evaluation data sources--student ratings, teaching portfolio, and peer evaluation--were developed. Concurrently, a system of faculty mentorship was implemented, as well as an administrative structure to effectively use data to assist in merit pay and promotion decisions. Using a comprehensive, evidenced-based system to document, analyze, and improve teaching effectiveness is essential to assuring excellence in teaching and learning.     

Evidence for promotion of nontenured faculty

An increasing number of faculty members are choosing the nontenured path in academia. These faculty members bring expertise in teaching that must be recognized and valued. With the shortage of nurse educators, procedures to attract and retain these faculty members are needed. To address this problem, guidelines for promotion of nontenured faculty were developed. The authors describe the development process and the final criteria for promotion.     

Tenure and promotion: an update on university nursing faculty

The status of tenure and promotion practices in nursing schools in university settings was studied. Forty nursing administrators from nursing programs around the country responded to a questionnaire regarding requirements to achieve tenure and/or promotion in the areas of teaching, research and scholarly activities, clinical competence, and community service. Findings revealed that while a growing number of nursing programs were more integrated into the academic community, many programs continued to struggle with the need for more faculty prepared at the doctoral level and for increased research activities.     

Faculty practice: how it enhances teaching.

This article is a presentation of the two authors' views on faculty practice and how both have operationalized the practice option. Both describe how the practice option has positively affected their teaching and their students' learning in a university baccalaureate nursing program located in the midwestern United States. The authors are full-time, master's prepared faculty members who have been in the faculty practice track for 2 years. Both teach in the junior year of a 4-year baccalaureate program. The first author (D.M.G.) is a staff nurse who works in a community hospital and serves on the hospital's clinical nursing research committee. The second author (C.R.S.) is a clinical research nurse coordinator who performs and manages pharmaceutical trials at multiple inpatient and outpatient locations. In this article, the authors examine faculty practice in general and the various models currently used. In addition, they explain their individual academic positions, the duties and responsibilities accompanying each of their practice roles, and the integration of those practice experiences into their clinical and classroom learning.     

Learning-service community partnership model: A pediatric program evaluation

Pediatric clinical learning experiences in which service provision is offered present a challenge to nursing faculty and students. The Learning-Service Community Partnership Model is a framework in which innovative learning and service provision are an integral part of the pediatric nursing clinical experience. This article discusses a program evaluation of a pediatric community-based health promotion program based on this model. The result from this program evaluation shows that a service program can be effectively managed and provided by pediatric nursing faculty and students. This article describes the shift in moving pediatric learning experiences into the community and validates its importance.     

Evaluation and promotion of the clinician-educator: the faculty viewpoint

Changes in healthcare management and reimbursement have contributed to alterations in the traditional culture of academic medical centers and the roles and responsibilities of their physician faculty, including clinician-educators. Questions concerning the appropriate evaluation methodology and criteria for promotion of such clinical faculty have been raised. In our survey of a large university-based physical medicine and rehabilitation department, only minimal differences were related to age, gender, and academic rank, and these are discussed.