Title: The lived experience of a nurse transitioning from a clinical setting to an academic environment
Abstract:
The transition from nursing practice to academia is a challenging experience. Nurse educators new to the academic setting often experience role conflict and reality shock as they leave a clinically-oriented setting to academia. The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe and provide a deeper understanding of the previously unexplored experience of nurses transitioning from clinical settings to academic environments. A purposive sample of seven nurse educators described their experience and the narrative data from these interviews was analyzed using Coliazzi’s methodology. The findings revealed that the nurse’s ‘innate desire for teaching’ was the main impetus for transitioning to an academic role. Three major themes central to the lived experiences of neophyte nurse educators were identified. The three themes gleaned from this phenomenological study included: (1) struggling with the challenges in academia, (2) adjusting to the new role, and (3) balancing clinical background with academic responsibilities. The results of this study indicate there is a need for extensive graduate preparation for the academic role. Moreover, the study revealed a dire need for: 1) well-designed and long-term peer mentoring support, 2) allocation of resources to support newly-hired faculty, and 3) a formal evaluation system of novice nurse educators.
Audience Take Away Notes:
• Revision of the Faculty Mentorship Program
• Reinforce a consistent utilization of guidelines and criteria for candidate peer evaluations
• Strategies to maintain faculty clinical practice and balance it with the teaching load
• Allocate resources to assist neophyte faculty for the new role
Biography:
Dr. Mikky received his doctoral degree in nursing from the University of Connecticut (UCONN) in 2006. His Master degree in Nursing Education from the University of Hartford was funded by the Fulbright scholarship. He had completed special studies in cardiovascular nursing at Emory University and the program was funded by the United States Information Agency (USIA). Over the past 29 years of experience, since he had earned his BSN degree from Bethlehem University (Palestine) in 1991, he had assumed different nursing positions in various clinical and academic institutions; nationally and internationally. He received the “Carolyn Ladd Widmer Research” Award in acknowledgement of excellence in 2006. His areas of expertise include: nursing education, adult health nursing, cardiovascular nursing, and long-term care. The area of his research interest is focused on the construct of “Empowerment in Nursing”. Dr. Mikky developed the “Client Empowerment Scale – CES” to assess the empowerment level in clients with different chronic health conditions. His studies have been cited in four professional journals. His scholarly work includes: conference presentations, research studies published in nursing journals, and three chapters in a handbook on transcultural nursing. Dr. Mikky has been employed as a nursing professor at Bloomfield College of Montclair State University since 2009. He has been appointed as the chairperson of the aforementioned program from July 2021-July 2023. He reviews manuscripts for four nursing Journals: Journal of Nursing Measurement, International Journal of Nursing Studies, Geriatric Nursing, International Journals of Health Planning and Management. In 2024, he participated in two international nursing conferences as a keynote speaker: Bethlehem University International Nursing Conference and 4th Edition of the Singapore Nursing Research Conference . Dr. Mikky was granted Tenure at a full professor rank according to Montclair State University’s (MSU) tenure and promotion criteria effective September 2025.
