Pathways to a Nursing Education Career, 2nd Edition

This enlightening book takes the reader on a journey from understanding the multiple components of a faculty role to searching for one’s first appointment, and, finally, to advancing in one’s career and making significant and sustained contributions to nursing education. It was written primarily for novice educators and graduate students preparing for a career in nursing education. The book is divided into ten chapters. Chapter 1 sets the stage for faculty role development and provides an overview of issues, trends, challenges, and opportunities affecting the nursing profession, the U.S. health care system, higher education, and nursing education. Chapter 2 discusses what is involved in assuming nursing faculty role. Chapter 3 describes the job interview process and presents examples of interview questions that prospective employers might ask, as well as questions that we might ask employers. Chapter 4 presents a discussion of the traditional tripartite mission for nursing faculty and about policies and procedures common to all academic institutions. Chapter 5 focuses on one of the most important aspects of teaching role-how to establish meaningful, effective student-faculty relationships. Chapter 6 discusses the teaching role in detail. It presents the more operational facets related to teaching, including what factors influence how institutions define the teaching role, types of faculty appointment, and how faculty workload and teaching assignments are determined. Chapter 7 presents a discussion about developing as a scholar in faculty role. All components of the Boyer model of scholarship are presented. Chapter 8 provides descriptions of academic, professional, and community service. Service at the local, regional, state, and national levels is discussed. Chapter 9 presents strategies for short- and long-term career planning. In the final chapter, the Afterword, the authors share their personal stories as nurse educators. Each chapter includes exhibits that summarize important information and case studies.