Opportunities and challenges

Faculty practice holds the potential to reshape nursing academia. The traditional roles of educators, researchers, and mentors remain essential to the academic mission, but the integration of faculty practice represents a paradigm shift that brings both opportunities and challenges. It creates a seamless connection between academia and real-world practice.

Faculty practice emphasizes the importance of producing graduates who not only have the requisite knowledge but also can translate that knowledge into action to meet increasingly complex

patient needs. Integrating faculty practice into academia highlights the adaptability and resilience of higher education institutions. It demonstrates the capacity of these institutions to advance and innovate in response to the evolving needs of students and the communities they serve, and it positions them as vital contributors to social and healthcare progress.

Faculty practice defined

As nursing and academia have evolved, so too has the definition of faculty practice. It can include clinical practice, scholarship, clinical research, education, consultation, leadership and administration, preceptorship, policy advocacy, and quality improvement management. It also may refer to the clinical work undertaken by nursing faculty who maintain active roles in patient care, health services, or clinical settings alongside their educational responsibilities. Clinical supervision of nursing students doesn’t qualify as faculty practice because student education remains the primary focus.

Amid the continuing nursing shortage, faculty play a critical role in educating and preparing the next generation of nurses. The availability of qualified nursing faculty directly affects the nursing workforce. Insufficient nurse faculty exacerbates the overall nursing shortage. Without enough qualified faculty to teach nursing students, nursing schools may have to limit their admissions. As a result, fewer new nurses enter the workforce.

Certification, licensure, and accreditation requirements necessitate a clear and consistent definition of faculty practice that’s implemented across academic institutions. Amidst the increasing pressures on academia to bridge the divide between theory and practice, nursing faculty face the challenging task of navigating this multi­faceted issue. Faculty practice offers several opportunities to bolster student learning outcomes, foster collaboration between academia and healthcare, and stimulate innovation through applied research. At the same time, nursing faculty and institutions must grapple with several challenges, including striking a work–life balance, securing institutional support, managing practice responsibilities, obtaining necessary resources, and maintaining academic rigor while engaging in practical endeavors. (See Certification and licensure.)

Opportunities

The role of nursing faculty engaged in active clinical practice offers several opportunities. Faculty who also care for patients help foster competency-based education, impart real-world expertise, and bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application. They create research prospects, serve as invaluable mentors for students, and advocate for policy changes. In addition, faculty practice offers opportunities for financial benefits and career advancement.

Clinical expertise

Nursing faculty practice not only nurtures the development of nursing professionals but also ensures that faculty maintain their clinical expertise and stay current with the latest healthcare advancements, which enriches students’ educational experience. In addition, faculty members who maintain clinical expertise promote interprofessional collaboration. By sharing interdisciplinary knowledge with their students, these faculty model collaboration for future nurses.

Budden noted that faculty deeply rooted in clinical settings can effectively translate theoretical knowledge into real-world applications, providing students with a holistic understanding of nursing principles. This translation enhances students’ ability to adapt and thrive in dynamic healthcare environments. Nugent and colleagues conducted a seminal study demonstrating that nursing faculty engaged in active clinical practice exhibit enhanced enthusiasm and passion for teaching. This enthusiasm creates an engaging and stimulating learning environment, which fosters curiosity, critical thinking, and a deep understanding of nursing concepts, ultimately shaping competent and compassionate future nurses.

Despite the lack of recent literature on the subject, the work of Budden and Nugent and colleagues makes clear that nursing faculty practice not only advances the expertise of faculty but also enriches the educational journey of aspiring nurses, ensuring that they’re well-prepared for the complexities of modern healthcare.

Research and scholarship

The experiential knowledge gained by faculty who in engage in clinical practice, coupled with academic expertise, equips them to identify important research questions that can directly impact patient care and nursing practice. Faculty members actively participating in healthcare environments can explore innovative teaching methods, foster interdisciplinary collaboration, and enhance patient care, ultimately contributing to scholarship in nursing education, patient outcomes, and clinical practices. This research supports a culture of continuous improvement, which enriches the profession’s knowledge base and advances the field.

Faculty practice not only opens the door to research grants inaccessible to those solely focused on teaching, but it also aligns with global service opportunities such as the Fulbright Program by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Clinical expertise and engagement in healthcare settings elevate faculty members’ competitiveness in securing research funding and financial support that extend to both their practice and academic endeavors. This dual impact reflects the dynamic role that faculty practice plays in enriching the profession’s knowledge base.

Preceptorship

Faculty practice significantly contributes to facilitating the acquisition of clinical sites and preceptors for nursing students, as indicated by several key studies. Catarelli and colleagues highlight the significance of cultivating faculty practice within a university-based student healthcare center. Their research indicates that this engagement expands networks and fosters relationships with clinical partners, which can prove instrumental in ensuring that nursing students have access to high-quality clinical placements. Research by Gonzales and colleagues indicates that faculty practice not only benefits students but also garners support from faculty and administrators.

Promotion in academia

Faculty practice plays a critical role in the advancement of academic careers, with a particularly profound impact on the field of nursing education. Bridging the divide between theoretical knowledge and practical application, assuming influential leadership roles within their communities, and fostering the growth of scholarship and research places practicing faculty in an advantageous position to achieve promotion and tenure within academia.

Research findings emphasize the significance of faculty practice regarding promotion and tenure. Pohl and colleagues conducted a comprehensive examination of faculty practice in relation to these academic milestones and identified faculty practice as an important variable. Their research indicated that faculty members actively involved in clinical practice were twice as likely to secure promotion and tenure compared to their nonpracticing counterparts. Similarly, the study by Nugent and colleagues identified faculty practice as a facilitator for achieving promotion and tenure. Such findings further emphasize the tangible impact of faculty practice in academia as not merely an optional pursuit but a cornerstone to career advancement within nursing education.

Financial benefits

Clinical salaries frequently outpace academic ones. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, RNs earn a median annual salary of $81,220, and advanced practice RNs (with a master’s degree) earn a median of $125,900. In comparison, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) reported that full-time nursing faculty salaries range from $65,749 to $72,760 for those without a doctoral degree, and from $72,259 to $117,064 for those with a doctoral degree. Engaging in faculty practice enables faculty to access higher-paying clinical positions while maintaining their academic roles, significantly enhancing their overall earnings, and making academic positions more financially appealing.

In addition, healthcare institutions frequently offer loan forgiveness and repayment programs to attract and retain nursing professionals. Faculty members who engage in practice may be eligible for such programs, providing a practical solution for those with school debt.

According to Pohl and colleagues and Nugent and colleagues, connecting these benefits with faculty practice can enhance job satisfaction. Such financial gains not only alleviate financial burdens but also facilitate the continued pursuit of academic roles, support ongoing professional development, and contribute to the enhanced financial security and well-being of nursing faculty.

Challenges

Engaging in clinical practice offers academic faculty numerous benefits but also presents significant challenges. Faculty members must excel in their roles as educators, researchers, mentors, and administrators while balancing clinical practice. Changes in healthcare and technology demand continuous learning, which adds to the pressure of meeting expectations placed on faculty as they navigate multiple roles. Academic responsibilities, institutional support, and clinical barriers compound the difficulty of meeting these expectations.

Academic responsibilities

Studies by Gonzalez and colleagues and Nugent and colleagues highlight the constraints on time faced by nursing faculty engaged in clinical practice. Nursing academics frequently find themselves with a brimming workload even before contemplating taking on the added responsibilities of clinical practice. Beyond their instructional duties, faculty members must grade papers and tests, provide feedback to students, and prepare curriculum. They also must provide support and guidance in the practicum setting. In addition, faculty members frequently have research or scholarly obligations to fulfill, as well as committee responsibilities.

Conflicting practice schedules can result in absence from important academic meetings, which some may perceive as decreased engagement in faculty responsibilities. Balancing clinical duties with other responsibilities becomes increasingly challenging due to the pressure of continuous learning and the need to excel in multiple areas. Excelling in these diverse roles alongside clinical practice demands substantial effort.

Institutional support

Institutional policies frequently fail to recognize the licensure and certification requirements of nursing faculty. For example, institutional evaluations typically don’t account for clinical practice when assessing academic nursing faculty for annual performance reviews, promotion, or tenure. And some institutions don’t factor clinical practice into faculty workloads. These nursing schools aren’t acknowledging that regular clinical practice enhances faculty member competence and confidence.

Some academic institutions use a practice model that factors in a percentage of the faculty’s clinical practice income as part of their employment arrangement, which may create conflicts of interest. The prospect of sharing a portion of their clinical income may discourage qualified faculty from participating in clinical practice and considering positions at institutions with such arrangements. The undue pressure of this arrangement can negatively affect the quality of the faculty member’s experience, clinical practice, teaching, research, and academic responsibilities. Faculty expected to maintain a high level of clinical practice to support their institution’s financial needs may experience burnout. In addition, faculty members stretched thin due to heavy clinical practice commitments may have less time and energy to dedicate to teaching and mentorship, potentially affecting the quality of education.

Clinical barriers

Clinical practice can present significant challenges for anyone trying to maintain a dual role in academia and healthcare. The long hours, irregular shifts, and high patient volume of clinical practice, in conjunction with an academic workload, can result in undue stress and, ultimately, burnout. Areas with high patient acuity or understaffing exacerbate the situation, which can potentially compromise patient care.

Meeting practice hour requirements isn’t negotiable, which hinders the faculty member’s ability to practice clinically while also holding an academic position. Finding a practice location that accommodates the demanding schedule required to fulfill academic responsibilities can prove daunting. These faculty may feel compelled to work holidays or undesirable shifts, a situation that may initially have prompted them to transition to a full-time academic position.

Future implications

Faculty practice in nursing has witnessed notable transformations driven by the dynamic needs of healthcare and education. The AACN has played a central role in shaping these changes via its evolving recommendations and standards. By including faculty practice, academic institutions demonstrate their adaptability and resilience as well as their capacity to evolve and innovate in response to the changing needs of students and the communities they serve. Ultimately these institutions position themselves as essential contributors to progress within society and healthcare.

Academic institutions can use that ability to adapt and innovate to meet evolving demands and address the persistent shortage of nursing faculty. Appropriate compensation models for faculty practice can help address this issue. Engaging in clinical practice can help faculty members supplement their income and enhance job satisfaction, but academic institutions must consider various models—such as part-time, full-time, or shared roles—to determine their effectiveness at meeting educational and clinical goals. Comparative research on these models can guide institutions in creating faculty practice policies that address faculty shortages, work–life balance, and certification and licensure.

Finding opportunities to strike a balance between clinical practice and academic responsibilities, as well as addressing institutional policies and clinical workload, will play an essential role in the success of faculty practice in nursing academia. Future research should focus on strategies that support faculty in achieving work–life balance and maintaining their well-being to prevent burnout and ensure job satisfaction. Longitudinal studies can shed light on the career trajectories and long-term outcomes of nursing faculty engaged in practice, including their contributions to healthcare leadership and policy development. Understanding and addressing these implications will help shape the future of nursing education and the nursing profession.

Navigate and leverage

The integration of faculty practice into academia represents a paradigm shift that aligns with the needs of healthcare and education. However, achieving an intricate balance between academic responsibilities and clinical practice demands careful consideration, including institutional support and policy recognition. By navigating the challenges and leveraging the opportunities, nursing education can continue to evolve, producing competent and resilient nurses who meet the demands of contemporary healthcare.

Emily Eiswirth is an associate professor at Loyola University New Orleans in New Orleans, Louisiana. Maggie Salib-Barrios is an associate professor at Joyce University of Nursing and Health Services in Draper, Utah. Cassie Sheffey is the MSN program director and an assistant professor at Emory & Henry College in Marion, Virginia. Amy Edmison is program director and an assistant professor at Emory & Henry College.

American Nurse Journal. 2024; 19(6). Doi: 10.51256/ANJ0624129

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