Resilience and Nursing Leadership

Signature Grand, Davie, Florida, USA

Based on the global nursing shortage, the nursing faculty shortage, and the graying of current nursing faculty it is important to transition new nurses into faculty roles. Many nursing programs are recruiting nurses who may not be completely prepared to independently assume the faculty role. Although they have years of clinical nursing experience, the transition to academia continues to be a challenge and may affect their decision to leave or to stay. Resilience has been described as a dynamic process whereby people “bounce back from adversity and go on with their lives” (Dyer & McGuinness, 1996, p. 277). The adversities that new faculty may encounter could be attributed to the old adage of how nurses eat their young. Included in all aspects of adversity are challenge, change, and disruption, all of which may be experienced by new faculty as they transition in their new roles. Purpose. To examine the resilience of nurse leaders in academia. Objectives. To facilitate the construction of effective mentoring programs, faculty development workshops, and programs that support continuing education. To provide a supportive environment with resources tailored to the nurturing and growth of new nursing faculty. Method: This proposed pilot study will utilize descriptive quantitative methods to answer the following research questions: What is the degree of resilience of nurse educators in an academic setting? Does resilience vary by gender, ethnicity, age, position or length of time in an academic setting?