The Impact of Culture on Faculty Retention in Nursing Education

Vol. 1 No. 2

Year: 2011

Issue: May-Jul

Title: The Impact of Culture on Faculty Retention in Nursing Education 

Author Name: 

Synopsis: 

There is a need to appreciate the impact of cultural dissonance on the transition of the experienced nurse clinician into the faculty role.  This factor is of utmost concern for nursing education administrators as they confront the current shortage of nursing faculty in programs throughout the United States. Nurses initially socialized into the culture of the profession may eventually transition into the culture of academia. The following paper explores how cultural similarities and differences influence that change. A review of the literature reveals that cultural dissonance exists for novice nursing faculty as they adjust to a faculty role and is related to the values transferred fromclinical practice. This role change creates conflict for the novice nurse educator and may negatively affect job satisfaction and retention, leading to the exodus of valuable future educators from the academic setting. Access to long term, formal mentoring programs for novice nurse educators, along with pairing of faculty mentors who are able to understand and address the issue of cultural dissonance, can facilitate successful socialization and transition into academia.  Implications for eliminating cultural dissonance involve specifying clear expectations for new nursing faculty, increasing the availability of mentoring programs in nursing education, and affording access to positive, expert faculty role models.