Effectiveness of Faculty Development In Nursing Education

Faculty Development In Nursing Education

What Is Faculty Development,Implementation of Faculty Development Program In Nursing,Impact of Faculty Development In Nursing.

What Is Faculty Development

    Faculty development is the planned course of action for the professional training of faculty (Finke, 2009). Faculty development is defined as the process by which novice, mid-career, and experienced faculty focus on career planning in the faculty roles and responsibilities including educational approaches, educational environments, nursing education leaders, and scholarship.

Implementation of Faculty Development Program In Nursing

    Faculty development is essential for professional growth as an educator. Felver et al. (2010) positive that faculty development should be a lifelong learning process that is developed to be intentional, planned, and proactive. Faculty development is a planned process that is used for faculty career planning. Faculty are encouraged to examine the National League for Nursing (NLN) Core Competencies for Nurse Educators to analyze competencies required for nurse faculty development.

    The NLN Core Competencies for Nurse Educators were developed by the Task Group on Nurse Educator Competencies (NLN, 2005). These competencies can provide the framework for faculty development. The eight core competencies are facilitating student learning: facilitating learner development and socialization; using assessment and evaluation strategies; participating in curriculum design and evaluation of program outcomes; functioning as a change agent and leader; pursuing continuous quality improvement in the nurse educator role; engaging in scholarships; and functioning within the educational environment (NLN, 2005).The eight core competencies include 66 task statements that have been identified to be important in the nurse educator role. 

    They may be used to create a faculty development program that is tailored to the needs of the nursing faculty. The NLN Core Competencies for Nurse Educators offers a comprehensive view of the faculty role to guide faculty development over time.Faculty development requires a process that consists of learning activities that add to the nurse educator's knowledge base, with increasing skills and competencies that expand the effectiveness in the faculty role. 

    Faculty development may be delivered by educational conferences, webinars, courses, workshops, online modules, mentoring programs, peer support systems, or centers for teaching excellence. Faculty development begins on hire with an orientation to the educational institution and opportunities for facilitating student learning.Once faculty have a solid foundation in student learning, including assessment and evaluation, focus should be on learning about the curriculum development and evaluation, developing as a leader, and developing as scholars in the faculty role. 

    Faculty should have a faculty development plan that is reflective, examines what they currently know, and identifies development opport units. Brookfield (1995) and Tanner (2006) describe the reflective practice as an essential element for faculty development. Reflective practice allows faculty to identify further faculty development opportunities.

Impact of Faculty Development In Nursing

    The responsibility for faculty development is shared with the faculty member, department chair, academic administrators, and college or university (Finke, 2009). According to Barksdale et al. (2011), it is essential to have a faculty development program to prepare novice educators and for faculty to remain current and relevant with new teaching strategies. Felver et al. (2010) suggest that faculty development is a lifelong process to assist faculty with transforming their teaching in the hope of retaining faculty, supporting professional growth, and assisting with faculty promotion. 

    Faculty development is essential for professional growth and retention as a nurse educator.Faculty development activities should be designed to motivate faculty and decrease the stress of learning the roles and responsibilities. Brazeau and Woodward (2012) discussed that instructors have high expectations of themselves, and unclear roles and expectations place stress on them. A formalized faculty development program developed by Foley et al. (2003) provided opportunities for professional development to increase skills in the faculty role with the hopes of recruiting and retaining nursing faculty. 

    Faculty development takes into consideration individual goals and development needs of an individual faculty.It is essential for novice, mid-career, and expert nurse educators to design a formalized faculty development plan. Once faculty have experience in facilitating teaching and learning, focus should include other areas based on the individual faculty goals related to the roles and responsibilities. Barksdale et al. (2011) designed a faculty development program that was offered to novice faculty and focused on instructional development: it also included mentoring in the academic and educator role and career development. 

    It is essential to work closely with faculty to design an individual professional development plan that is based on each faculty member's needs that can assist him or her to be successful in the nursing faculty role. Nursing faculty are responsible for beginning and continuing competency in the nurse educator role, including facilitating student learning; teaching strategies, assessment, and evaluation: curriculum development faculty scholarship; continuing professional development; educational institution roles and responsibilities; and leadership development. 

    Faculty development involves the planned activities that facilitate the professional growth of faculty as they progress in their role.Further faculty development should be considered in the area of nursing leadership within the educational environment. Nurses must be proactive to keep current and relevant with the changes that occur in the academic institution. It is recommended that academic institutions consider faculty development as a priority to realize the ultimate goal of retaining students and fostering institutional and individual excellence. 

    Further research should focus on faculty development activities that have been utilized and examine if the activities are working or should be revised. There is a need for further research related to new and emerging technologies that would support faculty development activities.Furthermore, considerations include personalized faculty development programs; these may include a specific focus on assisting with the promotion in academic rank, including individualized faculty development opportunities for promotion. 

    Consideration for faculty development includes individualized faculty goals and career plans. Personalized faculty development programs should be unique to each institution and engage faculty in developing a personalized faculty development plan related to the mission, vision, and goals of the organization. A faculty development needs assessment should be completed at each organization to design a planned process for faculty development.