Date of Conferral
2020
Degree
Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)
School
Education
Advisor
Mary Ramirez
Abstract
Clinical nurse experts are often recruited into educator roles based solely on clinical expertise. Without support and mentorship, clinical nurse experts struggled with transitioning into the educator role. The purpose of this study was to understand the experience of new nurse educators’ transition from a clinical nurse expert to novice nurse educator and to examine the perceptions of supports and barriers. Transitional theory provided the conceptual framework and informed the development of the interview protocol. The research questions focused on the experience of transitioning from expert to novice and on identifying supports and barriers that influenced transition. Using a case study design, the experience of 6 new nurse educators, with 3 years or greater of clinical practice and 3 years or fewer of teaching experience were captured. The study participants were recruited through purposeful sampling. Interview data were validated for trustworthiness through member checking, and themes were identified through a manual coding process. The findings revealed the following 6 areas of supports and barriers: role identity and role clarity, workload expectations and time management, adaptation and motivation, leadership, socialization and mentorship, and feeling valued. The project for this research study used findings to inform the development of a mentorship professional development program for new nurse educators. This study has implication of positive social change by providing a structured transition for new nurse educators to develop a new professional identity, make social-professional connections, and manage workload expectations. The mentored entry into the new role has implication to promote a positive social change in health care institutions by improving job satisfaction and work force retention.
Recommended Citation
Toll, Crystal, "Clinical Nurse Experts' Experience of Transitioning to the Novice Nurse Educator Role" (2020). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 8653.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/8653
