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. After earning his BSN degree from Bethlehem University (Palestine), Dr. Mikky received a grant from the United States Information Agency (USIA) to complete special studies in cardiovascular nursing at Emory University. Over his 30 years of experience, Dr. Mikky have assumed several academic and administrative positions in various institutions; nationally and internationally. 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 empowerment among clients with chronic health conditions. His studies have been cited in four professional journals (CES_2007, NJM_2011, BMC_2013, BMC_2017, BJSW_2021). His scholarly activities includes: conference presentations, research studies published in nursing journals, and three chapters in a handbook on transcultural nursing. Dr. Mikky reviews manuscripts for four nursing Journals (Journal of Nursing Measurement, International Journal of Nursing Studies, Geriatric Nursing, International Journals of Health Planning and Management). Over the last 3 years, Dr. Mikky participated in several national and international professional conferences as a keynote speaker: 4th Edition of the Singapore Nursing Research Conference (March 21-23, 2024), Bethlehem University International Nursing Conference (May 27, 2024), 8th Nursing World Conference-Baltimore MD (Oct 17-19, 2024), 5th Edition of the Singapore Nursing Research Conference (March 24-26, 2025), and 9th Edition of Nursing World Conference- Orlando FL (Oct 27-29, 2025).
