Recent research by Boyd et al (2009) and Murray (2007) designed to explore the experiences of new academics moving into higher education from vocational and professional backgrounds, indicates that the transition from clinical practice to academic roles can be challenging. Additional research by Hurst (2010) further demonstrates that despite having established successful clinical careers, clinicians often experience feelings of uncertainty and inadequacy following such a move, taking between 1.5 and 3 years to socialise into their new academic roles (Hurst, 2010). In addition, the transition of pre-registration nurse training into higher education is relatively recent, following its wholesale relocation from schools of nursing located in the National Health Service to higher education institutions in the early 1990s. This move was initiated in response to growing concerns that the traditional apprentice model of pre-registration training, with its focus on functional competency, failed to give nurses the freedom or status required for professional development (UKCC, 1986). Therefore, given the relative recency of the move and growing evidence of the difficulties experienced by health professionals, it is pertinent to examine how they have managed the transition. Therefore, the purpose of this constructivist study is to investigate the academic role of the nurse educator and its contribution to the formation of personal academic identity. Undertaken over a three year period, this study uses intensive interviews with 14 academics employed in pre-1992 and post-1992 universities. Data analysis using grounded theory techniques provides a rich and detailed picture of nurse educators' personal academic identities, juxtaposed by a number of institutional, social and professional drivers. The main findings also signify congruence with previous studies (Boyd et ai, 2009, Murray, 2007) and indicate academics experience multiple challenges when making the transition into higher education. Challenges inhibit their ability to assimilate into an academic identity and realise academic roles, a position leading respondents to express concern about the efficacy of the competency based curricula and their ability to meet the wider educational needs of pre-registration nursing. The reciprocal processes of data collection, analysis and theory generation leads to the production of a model of academic identity transformation and explicit recommendations that may be used to direct the ongoing development of nurse education.

Magister Curationis - MCur / Teacher identity is regarded as an important disposition when it comes to training would-be teachers, irrespective of the field of study. It is during the teaching practice experience that student nurse-educators transit from their preconceived identity as a student to accepting the teacher identity. It is expected that for student to acquire this identify they require profound knowledge in subject content, pedagogy and didactic knowledge, so as to perform their professions effectively. Although the focus of teaching is the student teachers, attention is sometimes focused more on the nursing facilitators rather than on the nursing student teachers who are becoming teachers. However, good nursing training should also take into consideration the perceptions of nurse student teachers on the teacher identity. This study sought to describe student nurse-educators’ perception of teacher identity with respect to the subject matter, pedagogy, and didactic expertise at a School of Nursing, University of the Western Cape. The quantitative research approach, using the descriptive design was employed to guide the study. Data was collected by means of a self-administered questionnaire using a five point Likert scale. A list of students in master’s education programme was utilised as the sampling frame. The sample included the Masters students in nursing education programme who have completed their theoretical courses and teaching practice. The Statistical Package for Social Science software (SPSS) version 22 was used in the analysis of the survey. The study showed that teacher identity of student nurse-educators is strongly related to their perceived level of knowledge of expertise in subject matter (34%) followed by a grasp in didactics (33.28%). Teacher identity was less perceived in mastering knowledge related to pedagogy (33.12%). While the average median were 3.50 for subject matter, 3.54 in didactics and 3.50 for pedagogy. The relation between knowledge of expertise in subject matter, pedagogy and didactics were established after performing Kendall tau-c test. The link between gender and subject matter, pedagogy and didactics revealed no significant association. No significant difference was found between males and females respondents perceptions with regards to subject matter and didactics; while significant difference was found with didactics. The findings make a contribution to the body of knowledge in the nursing education field, and could contribute to improve the competency and quality in the practice of nursing education. With regards to the speculation on identity formation and development issues, it is hoped these findings will provide greater understanding of the difficulties student nurse-educators experience as they construct individual identities as teacher.

This project study addressed the lack of formal preparation encountered by novice nurse educators within a nursing program located in the southeastern region of North Carolina. This problem is significant at both the local and national levels because expert clinicians are needed to fill nurse educator vacancies that have led to qualified students being denied admission to nursing programs. A qualitative case study research design was employed to explore the perceptions of novice nurse educators in one nursing program transitioning from clinical nursing practice to the nurse educator role. The theoretical framework to guide this study was Benner's novice to expert model that outlines the journey of how novice nurse educators transition into an educator role. Guiding research questions focused on understanding the motives, challenges, positives experiences, and perceptions of support that novice nurse educators encountered during transition from clinical practice to academia. Purposeful sampling was used to recruit 7 novice nurse educators within an associate degree nursing program. Data collection included interviews with novice nurse educators, review of a 2012 self-study report, and demographic characteristics of participants. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, coded, and analyzed to identify themes. Five themes were identified: (a) work is always with you, (b) teaching in the dark, (c) making a difference, (d) a shoulder to lean on, and (e) more structure/mentoring. Findings indicated the need for a mentorship/orientation program, which was developed to assist in role transition for novice nurse educators. Implications could contribute to a positive social change by helping clinicians to transition effectively to meet society's need for qualified nurse educators.

Nurse educators play a crucial role in the nursing profession, as they are concerned with the important task of preparing responsible, efficient, competent and knowledgeable nurses; and also with the task of strengthening nurses as independent and critical thinkers not just for now, but for the future. Within the South African educational environment, and more specifically, a nursing college in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, the roles expected of nurse educators are numerous, and in some cases part from the facilitation of learning in the college and the clinical area, they are also expected to teach subjects outside of their areas of expertise. Although the provincial nursing college, as the context for this study, provides unique and challenging opportunities for theoretical and clinical teaching and learning, the environment and the relationship between the stakeholders seems to be questionable, and needs improvement from all stakeholders to be more conducive for learning. The aim of this study was to explore and describe the perceived roles of nurse educators in the context of a provincial nursing college. A qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual design served as framework for this study. Data was collected by means of focus-group discussions, with samples selected from two populations of stakeholders with first-hand experience of the expected roles of nurse educators. The first participating group consisted of seven nurse educators, and the second participating group consisted of twelve nursing students. The focus of the focus group discussions was based on the participants’ ‟experience of how they perceived the current role of nurse educators” in a provincial nursing college in the KwaZulu-Natal province. The findings of the research resulted in five (5) main and seventeen (17) sub-themes from the participating nurse educators, and four (4) main and eleven (11) sub-themes from the participating nursing students. The participants in this study perceived the current roles of the nurse educators within the provincial nursing college as those of mentor, support-giver, teacher and facilitator, collaborator and scholar. The nurse educators also viewed their current roles as including managerial and administrative tasks. These findings were integrated with relevant national and international literature to culminate in conclusions, limitations and recommendations of the study. The concluding statements served as a basis for the recommendations to nurse educators, nursing education, nursing education management and nursing research. These recommendations include the advice that nursing education within the provincial nursing college should be viewed and treated as a scholarly activity. Cooperation, teamwork and collaboration also came to the forefront as essential for the sustainability of nursing education within the provincial nursing college context. Role conflicts also came out as an integrated and essential part of understanding and developing the current role expectations of the nurse educator in the provincial nursing college context. / MCur, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Nurse educators play a crucial role in the nursing profession, as they are concerned with the important task of preparing responsible, efficient, competent and knowledgeable nurses; and also with the task of strengthening nurses as independent and critical thinkers not just for now, but for the future. Within the South African educational environment, and more specifically, a nursing college in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, the roles expected of nurse educators are numerous, and in some cases part from the facilitation of learning in the college and the clinical area, they are also expected to teach subjects outside of their areas of expertise. Although the provincial nursing college, as the context for this study, provides unique and challenging opportunities for theoretical and clinical teaching and learning, the environment and the relationship between the stakeholders seems to be questionable, and needs improvement from all stakeholders to be more conducive for learning. The aim of this study was to explore and describe the perceived roles of nurse educators in the context of a provincial nursing college. A qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual design served as framework for this study. Data was collected by means of focus-group discussions, with samples selected from two populations of stakeholders with first-hand experience of the expected roles of nurse educators. The first participating group consisted of seven nurse educators, and the second participating group consisted of twelve nursing students. The focus of the focus group discussions was based on the participants’ ‟experience of how they perceived the current role of nurse educators” in a provincial nursing college in the KwaZulu-Natal province. The findings of the research resulted in five (5) main and seventeen (17) sub-themes from the participating nurse educators, and four (4) main and eleven (11) sub-themes from the participating nursing students. The participants in this study perceived the current roles of the nurse educators within the provincial nursing college as those of mentor, support-giver, teacher and facilitator, collaborator and scholar. The nurse educators also viewed their current roles as including managerial and administrative tasks. These findings were integrated with relevant national and international literature to culminate in conclusions, limitations and recommendations of the study. The concluding statements served as a basis for the recommendations to nurse educators, nursing education, nursing education management and nursing research. These recommendations include the advice that nursing education within the provincial nursing college should be viewed and treated as a scholarly activity. Cooperation, teamwork and collaboration also came to the forefront as essential for the sustainability of nursing education within the provincial nursing college context. Role conflicts also came out as an integrated and essential part of understanding and developing the current role expectations of the nurse educator in the provincial nursing college context. / MCur, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / This study described the education courses in Master of Science in Nursing Education (MSN Ed) degree and post-master’s certificate (PMC) in nursing education programs and determined which of the eight NLN Core Competencies, used to certify nurse educators, were represented. Data regarding the required credit hours, practicum hours, distance accessibility, and preparation for the Certified Nurse EducatorCM (CNE) Examination also were collected. The study used a descriptive design using a web scraping technique. Program information was obtained from the accrediting bodies for graduate nursing programs in 2015. Course description data were obtained from web pages via curriculum plans, course catalogs, graduate handbooks, or other institutional web pages. Data were collected from each program website, collated, uploaded, and analyzed. In both types of programs, evidence was found for the NLN Core Competencies: Facilitate Learning (97%), Participate in Curriculum Design and Evaluation of Program Outcomes (97%), Use Assessment and Evaluation Strategies (95%), Pursue Continuous Quality Improvement in the Nurse Educator Role (88%), Engage in Scholarship (45%), Function as a Change Agent and Leader (30%), Facilitate Learner Development and Socialization (28%), and Function within the Educational Environment (12%). Only 36% and 40% of MSN Ed and PMC in nursing education programs, respectively, were completely distance accessible. Required credit hours varied from 28 to 65 for the entire MSN Ed and from 6 to 47 for the nursing education courses. PMC credit hours varied from 3 to 45. Practicum clock hours, for both programs, ranged from 60–500 while practicum credit hours ranged from 1–18. Revision of MSN Ed and PMC curricula is indicated to improve inclusion of content in all competency areas. Moreover, increasing the number of distance accessible programs may encourage more nurses to consider a master’s degree or post-master’s certificate in nursing education.

Because of the highly complex expectations of new nursing graduates "nursing education needs teachers with a deep nursing knowledge who also know how to teach and conduct research...in order to address the specific educational demands of teaching the complex practice of nursing" (Benner, Sutphen, Leonard, & Day, 2010, p. 6). Currently, the educational requirement for a nurse educator in a university setting is a doctoral degree, preferably a PhD. However, Cronon(2006) emphasized that "many PhD recipients are ill prepared to function effectively in the settings in which they work...particularly those related to teaching" (p. 5). The purpose of this study was to document the perceptions of experienced nurse educators both prepared, and currently preparing at the doctoral (PhD) level, to understand to what extent PhD work prepared them for their role in the delivery of nursing education. A case study approach was selected, using a constructivist paradigm. Data were collected from ten participants at three sites of a university school of nursing using three semi-structured interviews. Primary data were supplemented by institutional foundation documents and a field journal. Four themes emerged from the data as follows: the ambiguities associated with the interpretation of the term nurse educator influenced how a nurse educator described their role; doctoral (PhD) education enhanced approaches to thinking in relation to increased breadth and depth of knowledge base, in addition to research capabilities; the PhD credential was found to be indicative of research credibility both within and across the disciplines and enhanced the potential for funding opportunities; and doctoral (PhD) education did not support the pedagogical aspects, specifically formal teaching preparation, of the nurse educator's role. While this study provided insight in understanding how doctoral (PhD) education supported experienced nurse educators in their roles, it identified issues that impacted on how these nurse educators enacted their roles. These issues included both a disconnection and a perceived inequality between research and teaching, in addition to a marked variation in the interpretation of the scholarship of teaching. Among the implications of this study on theory are its contributions to understanding the experiences of nurse educators in relation to their doctoral (PhD) education as supporting their roles in the delivery of nursing education. Among the implications of this study for research is the need to investigate how doctoral (PhD) education could better support the pedagogical aspect of nurse educators' roles, or whether other doctoral (EdD) education might be more effective in providing this pedagogical foundational knowledge. Additional implications of this study for research are to identify ways in which thinking, research, and practice could function collectively, rather than as separate entities. Among the implications for practice are a greater understanding of the teacher-scholar model in relation to the components of discovery, integration, application, and teaching (Boyer, 1990), and how learning organizations and communities of knowledge could facilitate this deeper understanding.

The growing complexities and dramatic changes in the contemporary health care system require nurses to practice successfully with essential professional knowledge and skills required for safe and competent practice. The implication is that nurse educators are confronted with the challenge to redefine effective teaching strategies appropriate to prepare nurses for the complexities of the current practice demands. To this end, student-centered teaching (SCT) has emerged in many undergraduate nursing curricula as a tool to develop essential practice skills in nursing students. A lack of understanding of how nurse educators experience SCT may hinder its success and sustainability. This qualitative study explored the lived experience of clinical nurse educators (CNEs) using SCT in the practice settings. Ten CNEs who self-identified as using SCT volunteered to participate. Data were collected using a semi-structured interview guide and audio recorder. Additional data source included a demographic survey and a reflective journal. Analysis of the CNEs’ perspectives revealed an overarching theme entitled “SCT in a non-student-centered world” with a variety of meanings of SCT from a humanistic point of view. Participants identified individual, staff, and contextual factors including policy issues that hinder successful implementation of SCT in the practice settings. The study also unveiled that a successful paradigm shift to SCT may not be the sole responsibility of the CNEs but a joint endeavor by all stake-holders within the health care delivery system. Findings of this study may be used by nursing and health sciences faculty and administrators to guide policy and program planning that incorporates student-centered clinical education. / October 2016

The problem was that there is a shortage of nurses who possess the leadership practices required to fill current and impending nursing leadership vacancies. Hospital-based nurse educators are in a prime position to foster a leadership mindset within nurses, and seek out potential nurse leaders; however, nurse educators first need to develop their own leadership practices and feel empowered to take on the role of mentoring future nurse leaders. The goal was to develop an online learning community where hospital-based nurse educators could develop their own nursing leadership practices through storytelling within an environment that included the elements of teaching presence, cognitive presence, and social presence. The online learning community would be considered an empowering environment, and nurse educators would improve their own feelings of empowerment. A wiki was used as the computer-user interface for the online learning community, and was designed based on the principles of human-computer interaction, learning theory, and instructional design. The wiki was separated into two learning communities, namely, the facilitated community and the self-organizing community. Some of the wiki pages were viewable by both communities, some were community specific, and other pages were private and viewable only to the nurse educator and the facilitator. The researcher/facilitator was the leader of the facilitated community, while self-organizing community members were responsible for leading their own community. The facilitator intervened in the self-organizing community when necessary, mostly to address technical issues. Through direct instruction via narrated presentations available to both communities, and leadership stories written and posted by the community members themselves, nurse educators learned about exemplary practices of leadership. Nurse educators in both communities significantly increased their own perceived leadership practices and perceived levels of empowerment. Educators in both learning communities identified that their communities included the elements of teaching, cognitive, and social presence. There were no differences between the communities, except on the teaching presence subscale of direct instruction, where the facilitated community was rated significantly higher. Given increases in empowerment levels, it was determined that both online learning communities could be considered empowering environments.

The aim of this study was to determine the quality of work-life (QWL) of nurse educators at South African universities. The objectives of the research was to describe the demography, home, and work factors of these nurse educators, and its effect on their experience of QWL. It also entailed triangulation of these experiences with the perceptions of the heads of nursing departments (HODs) for a thorough understanding, and designing guidelines to address the situation. A mixed methods methodology was followed, with a partly mixed sequential equal status sampling design and equal weight to the first quantitative and second qualitative phases. The population for the first phase was all the nurse educators teaching at South African universities, who on invitation completed an electronic questionnaire. The data obtained was analysed by utilising both descriptive and inferential statistics. The population for the second phase was all the HODs of the nursing departments of the 22 South African universities. The qualitative data obtained in the second phase was analysed with the Atlas.ti 8 program. The results of the study indicate that nurse educators’ QWL is influenced by meso, macro and micro environmental factors, with work, home and individual situations that are contextual to the African and specifically South African positioning on the globe. A conceptual framework improving on Easton and Van Laar ‘s (2007) model are v proposed for the African higher education edcuation (HEI) context, to better understand these influences. Recommendations to address the situation include: • Mitigation of international, national and provinical influences through attention to curriculisation and improved governance and funding • Strengthening the structure across the HEIs by improved governance, consideration of salaries and benefits of all staff to be fair and equal, investing in good technology for better output, developing methods to distribute the workload fairly, and support to staff for research • Support of nursing departmental output by addressing the needs of HODs, line managers, the nurse educators themselves, supportive staff and students, with the focus on personal and individual factors that influence physical, mental and social health, inclusive of the support of family life The developed guidelines flows from application of industrial psychological principles to propose improving both the QWL and symbiotically, the output for HEI nursing departments. / Health Studies