From Expert to Novice: An Evidence-based Mentoring Program for New Nursing Faculty

Given the current national nursing faculty shortage, recruiting and retaining expert nursing faculty is key to meeting the current and projected need for nurses and nurse practioners (Buerhaus, Auerbach & Douglas, 2009; Heinrich & Oberleitner, 2012). In many cases, advanced practice nurses who are experts in their specialty areas find themselves as a novice in classroom and clinical teaching. Mentoring is a recommended strategy to provide support to expert nurses who are transitioning to a new role as a nursing educator (AACN, 2005; Diekelmen, 2004; Specht, 2013). The purpose of this presentation is to present the development, implementation and evaluation of an evidence-based mentoring program for new nursing faculty.   

During the 2012-2013 academic year,  a nursing program in a mid-Atlantic state increased their student enrollment by more than 60%. As a result, nursing faculty positions grew by nearly 30%. Many of the new faculty were expert advanced practice nurses transitioning to a novice role as a nursing educator.  The Nursing Faculty Development Committee completed a systematic review of the interprofessional  literature on faculty mentoring and launched a pilot program, working collaborative with the university’s  Center for Faculty Innovation. 

This presentation will highlight the needs assessment, conceptual framework, evidence-based program essentials and competencies, program activities, evaluation model, 1^st year results, and lessons learned.  Specific examples will be shared that illustrate the success of the mentoring program activities.