Advisor
Clukey, Lory
Committee Member
Hessler, Karen
Committee Member
Roehrs, Carol Joy
Department
Nursing Education
Institution
University of Northern Colorado
Type of Resources
Text
Place of Publication
Greeley (Colo.)
Publisher
University of Northern Colorado
Date Created
8-1-2015
Genre
Thesis
Extent
158 pages
Digital Origin
Born digital
Description
The cultural context of academic nurse educators is unique. Its nuances have not been explored from the perspective of nursing faculty. In this ethnographic study, 12 faculty were interviewed, revealing the cultural context of academic nurse educators as complex, rewarding, and demanding. Metaphors of water such as “sink or swim” and “keeping your head above water” were frequently used by study participants as descriptors of the culture. Challenges in this culture included demanding workloads, challenging interchanges with nursing and academic colleagues, negotiating a complex bureaucracy with unwritten rules and rituals, and finding trusted individuals who would provide a network of support. Nursing faculty found they needed to earn credibility within the culture. Clinical nurses enter this culture and must learn patterned ways of thinking as academic nurse educators. An essential key to adapting one’s professional identity in this context was finding colleagues who would provide a support network. However, nurse faculty reported interactions with some of their colleagues to be guarded, uncivil, and conflict avoidant. Often, nurse faculty encountered a bureaucratic quagmire with reports of slow pace of work, resistance to change, heavy workloads, and requirements for scholarship not always clear or consistently enforced. Findings from this study dictate that strategies must be implemented to provide nursing faculty with a network of support. Intentional efforts must be made to address horizontal incivility and balanced workloads.
Degree type
PhD
Degree Name
Doctoral
Language
English
Local Identifiers
Cotter_unco_0161D_10414
Rights Statement
Copyright is held by author.
