Preparation for the role of baccalaureate nurse educator: Implications for development of nurse educator curriculum

The purpose of this study was to determine the characteristics, experience and opinions of nurse educator faculty related to preparation for the role of nurse educator. Eighty-nine baccalaureate nurse educators randomly selected from each time zone of the continental United States electronically completed the “Nursing Faculty Development Survey.” Faculty members within nursing education programs typically hold advanced degrees in nursing. They are considered to be experts within their specialty area. Faculty are often hired for their clinical expertise rather than any formal educator preparation. Colleges of nursing routinely evaluate their programs and review student outcomes to ensure quality education. However, these same colleges seldom determine how nurse-educators are prepared to teach or what knowledge is necessary for teaching. To ensure quality nursing education programs, we must have quality educators whose specialization is not solely in the clinical arena but also in education. Three research questions were asked in this study: How have faculty in baccalaureate nursing programs been prepared to teach? What additional information was identified by faculty of baccalaureate nursing programs accredited by the NLN as needed to meet the changing roles in teaching? What did the baccalaureate nursing program faculty report as the positive and negative activities that were a part of their preparation for teaching? Faculty surveyed had received a variety of content in their preparation for teaching. The respondents, to meet the changing role of nurse educator, identified various needs for additional information. The need for mentors in the development of nurse educators was a dominant theme in responses to open-ended questions. After analysis of responses, the results of this study provided implications for suggested curriculum for the preparation of nurse educators. This exploration of curriculum for nurse educators has the potential to lead to better use of educational strategies for quality nursing education that is a critical component in the preparation of nurses