Abstract

The transition from nursing clinical practice to academia can be complex, as new faculty must adapt to teaching, curriculum development, and academic expectations. Nursing programs currently face a 7.2% faculty vacancy rate, a shortage expected to worsen as many faculty approach retirement. A structured orientation and development process may support successful transition and improve long-term retention. The purpose of this project was to evaluate the effectiveness of the nursing faculty development process. Does the implementation of a structured orientation and development process improve participant satisfaction, perceived preparedness to teach, and teaching efficacy? A mixed-method, nonexperimental design with purposeful sampling was used to study nursing faculty who completed the Nursing Faculty Development modules. Data were collected using questionnaires to gather demographic and modules satisfaction information. The Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale was administered twice via Qualtrics.

Twelve of the thirteen faculty who completed the modules participated in the questionnaires. Satisfaction was high, with 92% reporting satisfaction with the modules and 50% feeling prepared to teach their first semester. All participants indicated plans to continue teaching within the organization. Mean teaching self-efficacy scores were 7.21 on a 9-point Likert scale.

A structured orientation and development process was found to have high satisfaction scores, perceived preparedness to teach, and self-perceived teaching efficacy with participants. The practice implications of this project highlight the importance of consistent orientation and ongoing professional development in promoting a smooth and successful transition for faculty in academia.

Author Details

Sarah Deshler, DNP, MSN-Ed, RN, CNE

Sigma Membership

Non-member

Type

DNP Capstone Project

Format Type

Text-based Document

Study Design/Type

Non-Experimental

Research Approach

Mixed/Multi Method Research

Keywords:

Faculty, Orientation, Employee Orientation, Nursing School Faculty, Faculty Development, Teacher Development, Program Evaluation, Educational Evaluation

Advisor

Norma H. Clark

Second Advisor

Dawn Rivas

Degree

DNP

Degree Grantor

Northern Arizona University

Degree Year

2026

Rights Holder

All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.

Review Type

None: Degree-based Submission

Acquisition

Self-submission

Date of Issue

2026-05-22

Full Text of Presentation

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