Project Investigator(s): Cheryl A. Segaric, Assistant Professor of Teaching, School of Nursing
Project Description
Using the interpretive phenomenology methodology, this pilot study will examine nurses’ experience in the role of novice clinical teacher. The context is accelerated undergraduate nursing
education at UBC and, in light of a critical shortage of nurse educators, a call to action for recruitment, retention and support strategies for practicing nurses’ transitioning to nursing education. It is anticipated that the study will contribute to our understanding of the meaning new teachers ascribe to their experience. This will help inform the strategic design of a mentorship program to best support nursing faculty with implications for enhancing student learning.
Research Questions
What is the experience of nurses in the role of novice clinical teacher? The study is informed by the theoretical framework: Landscapes of Practice (Wenger-Trayner & Wenger-Trayner, 2015) – a broad social perspective on learning in professional occupations. Landscapes of Practice are constituted by a complex system of communities of practice (CoP) and is concerned with people’s navigation within and across multiple CoP.
Impact on teaching and learning at UBC
Despite benefits to mentorship being reported in other practice disciplines, mentorship as an established standard practice in nursing education remains nebulous. Lack of consensus about mentorship approaches (Nowell et al, 2015), combined with poor understanding about nurses’ transition to novice teachers leaves educational leaders in nursing with limited guidance when designing evidence-based mentorship strategies for supporting nursing faculty and alleviating faculty shortages. An enhanced understanding of the experience of new teachers’ navigation within and across landscapes of practice will contribute to an evidence-informed, meaningful approach to mentorship in the UBC School of Nursing and contribute to the broader discourse around
mentorship best practice in nursing.