Correlates of university nurse faculty publication productivity

The purpose of this study was to identify factors which may be important in the publication productivity of university nurse faculty. Two central research questions were addressed: 1) What relationship exists between selected professional, educational, and career variables and the publication productivity of university nurse faculty members? 2) What is the typical publication productivity profile of university nurse faculty? The population consisted of 422 full-time tenure tract nurse faculty teaching in seven nursing schools that offered baccalaureate, master's and doctoral programs and were located in public Research Universities I. All data were obtained through the use of a questionnaire. Completed questionnaires were received from 80 percent of the respondents. Faculty not meeting the criteria for the study and all instructors were eliminated from analysis. Data were ultimately analyzed for 261 subjects. Thirty-two variables were found to have a significant relationship to faculty publication productivity. Eleven of these variables (highest degree, years since first master's, age, rank, teaching responsibilities, time spent teaching, time spent in research, hours of clinical instruction, teaching and research preferences, journals received, beliefs about the desirable relationship between publication and promotion and tenure) and five motivational variables were included in a regression analysis. These 16 variables grouped into three clusters, accounted for .4845 percent of the total variation in university nurse faculty publication productivity. Current job socialization factors and motivational factors accounted for a significant amount of variation in faculty publication productivity even when highest degree, years since first master's, age, and rank were controlled.     

Factors that influence attraction and retention of qualified nurse educators.

In a study to determine factors that influence attraction and retention of nurse educators, 92 faculty members in Iowa institutions of higher learning reported that the work itself was most important in attracting them to and holding them at the institution. Recognition was least important in attracting them, and salary was least important in retention.     

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.     

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.     

Recruitment and retention of Canadian undergraduate psychiatric nursing faculty: challenges and recommendations

The education of psychiatric nurses in Canada has gradually evolved since its inception early in the 20th century. The most obvious advancement has been a move away from institutionally based training to undergraduate university preparation. Associated with this advancement is the ongoing challenge of recruiting and retaining qualified nurse educators. This essay addresses external factors (e.g. title disparity, association affiliation, societal perception of psychiatric nursing and professional identity) and internal factors (e.g. career transition and tenure and promotion) that influence faculty recruitment and retention. Existing challenges and recommendations designed to enhance recruitment and retention efforts are outlined.     

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.     

Managing an academic career

Current predicaments that academic educators deal with, that is, the conflicts between teaching and research responsibilities, the competition within universities for promotion and tenure, and the importance of viewing the university as a complex social-political system are addressed. Recommendations for improvements in the development and education of new faculty members and suggestions for evaluative criteria for the documentation of a faculty member's performance are offered.     

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.     

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.     

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.     

Scholarly activities among clinical laboratory science faculty.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the research and scholarly productivity of faculty in four-year college and university clinical laboratory science (CLS) programs. To identify meaningful scholarship, to assign values to that scholarship, and to list the top 15 CLS programs according to faculty research productivity. DESIGN: In 1996, a national study involving 127 college and university CLS programs was conducted to determine whether faculty were participating in research. A questionnaire was distributed to 505 faculty members. Data from 286 respondents (57% response) representing 114 of 127 (90%) CLS programs were analyzed. SETTING: The study took place at The Ohio State University with collaboration from the University of Tennessee-Memphis and the University of Minnesota. PARTICIPANTS: All CLS faculty within a four-year university or college sponsoring a CLS program were invited to participate. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: To determine whether CLS faculty scholarly activities have been strengthened in the last decade, to quantitate scholarship productivity by point assessment, and to list the top 15 CLS programs according to faculty research productivity. RESULTS: Research productivity included time spent in research, numbers of publications and presentations, and grantsmanship. Data indicate that faculty who possess earned doctorates and are employed by research universities have higher levels of research productivity. While 46% of the CLS faculty hold doctorates and 50% are tenured, 42% of all CLS faculty members have not published a research paper or abstract since 1990. Conversely, faculty in some non-research institutions may not be expected to participate in such scholarly activities. On the other hand, 23% of the faculty responding had published six or more articles or abstracts since 1990, 46% were successful in obtaining external funding, and 15% of faculty members had been awarded grants larger than $100,000. CONCLUSIONS: The top 10% of clinical laboratory science faculty researchers are performing approximately one-half of all scholarly activities. The top fifteen research programs in CLS are identified, and not surprisingly, are located in research universities. In the past decade, and generally speaking, CLS faculty have made progress in scholarship including highest degree obtained, publications, presentations, and grantsmanship.     

Two faces of nurse faculty: teacher and researcher

The purpose of this paper is to examine three topics related to nurse educators and research productivity. The first section is an analysis and synthesis of what is known about nurse educator involvement in research activities from published studies. The second section is an examination of factors that may enhance or deter nurse educators from engaging in research activities. The focus of the last section is on the relationship between research and teaching quality. Empirical data are examined and recommendations made for nurse faculty.     

African American nurse faculty satisfaction and scholarly productivity at predominantly white and historically black colleges and universities.

The aim of this study was to examine faculty satisfaction and the relationships among selected elements of African American women nurse faculty productivity at two types of institutions: predominantly white (PWCUs) and historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Organizational Culture Theory was used as the conceptual framework to provide the basis to explore the extent of productivity and levels of satisfaction among the study participants. Satisfaction was measured using a six-point Likert attitudinal scale. Scholarly Productivity was measured as the extent of published/submitted works (authorship), number and dollar amounts of grant submissions (grantsmanship) and elected/appointed positions held in professional organizations (leadership). Consistent with previous research studies of minority faculty in other disciplines, the current study found that the majority of African American women nurse faculty tended not to hold senior professorial rank, administrative positions, or tenure status. When comparisons were made between HBCU and PWCU faculty, however, a higher percentage of HBCU faculty reported holding Deanships or program coordinator positions and, on average, had slightly larger dollar amounts for funded grant awards and held significantly more leadership positions in professional nursing organizations. The aggregated data findings of this study did not support a strong relationship between selected elements of satisfaction with the academic institution's organizational culture and the scholarly productivity of African American women nurse faculty teaching at HBCUs and PWCUs. However, when the data were disaggregated by type school, moderately significant differences between HBCU and PWCU faculty were found, such that along several dimensions of the constructs of organizational culture the levels of dissatisfaction among PWCU faculty significantly skewed the overall data findings. In general, while PWCU faculty demonstrated higher levels of authorship, reported larger salaries, and held more tenured positions when compared with HBCU faculty, PWCU respondents tended to be significantly less satisfied with the leadership, environment, and socialization processes of their respective collegiate schools of nursing than were their HBCU counterparts. Among HBCU faculty the extent of productivity positively correlated with satisfaction for three of the six dimensions of organizational culture.     

An examination of role strain for university nurse faculty and its relation to socialization experiences and personal characteristics.

The purpose of this study is to describe the degree of perceived role strain and the major sources of role strain in nurse faculty employed in major universities; and to explore the relationship between selected socialization experiences and personal characteristics and the degree of role strain experienced. The sample (N = 102) was comprised of full-time tenure track nurse faculty employed in major universities that offered National League for Nursing-accredited undergraduate and graduate programs in nursing, and were located in institutions classified as Research Universities I by the Carnegie Council on Policy Studies in Higher Education (1987). The majority of faculty were experiencing some degree of role strain, with a substantial number experiencing moderate to high degrees of role strain. The major sources of role strain were role overload and both intrasender and interrole conflict. Analysis of the relationship between socialization experiences and personal characteristics and the degree of role strain experienced revealed nine statistically significant relationships. Implications for administrators and faculty are discussed.     

Faculty development: doing more with less

Faculty development is essential to prepare novice nurse educators for their teaching role and to keep experienced faculty up to date with new educational approaches. This article describes a comprehensive and cost-effective program for faculty development that builds on the expertise of current faculty to educate, guide, and support colleagues, and foster their career development. The faculty development program includes an annual clinical faculty workshop; monthly face-to-face and online educational programs; a formal mentoring program for novice teachers and faculty members new to the school; programs for professional and career development; and a website for faculty orientation and continued learning.     

Where is the evidence for teaching methods used in nursing education?

Twenty-first century maternal-child faculty members are now being encouraged to base their teaching practice on sound evidence. Finding that evidence, however, can be challenging. This article discusses not only the current state of research on teaching in nursing, but also how and where educators can access information about teaching that is based on research. It also describes strategies educators can use to develop an evidence-based approach to teaching. Topics included in this discussion include recommended literature resources in nursing and education, bibliographic database search techniques, guides for appraisal of quantitative and qualitative research, and relevant nursing education and general education professional organizations. In addition, an evidence hierarchy from the field of education is introduced to rank educational studies in nursing. If nurse educators are to apply the evidence-based process used in clinical practice to the practice of nursing education, more research is needed in this field.     

Rebuilding the research enterprise of a historical research intensive college of nursing

BackgroundMaintaining a productive research enterprise within a college of nursing is multifaceted and complex. It is especially challenging when a college's mission transitions to address other priorities, and later attempts to re-emerge in the competitive funding environment and re-establish a productive research portfolio.PurposeTo describe how a college is rebuilding the research enterprise to meet the established research mission after a decade of marginal research productivity.StrategiesTargeted multi-level strategies at the university, college, and individual levels are being implemented to enhance the research infrastructure and faculty capacity to increase research productivity.ImpactIn the past five years, compared to the previous five years, annual faculty publications have doubled, annual extramural funding per tenure track faculty increased by 72%, and the College's average extramural sponsored award funding per year increased 118%. National Institutes for Research rankings moved from no ranking (2013) to top 31 (2017).DiscussionEarly results are positive and efforts to maintain and further grow the research enterprise will require sustained effort to meet ongoing challenges.     

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.