7: THE ROLE OF THE EDUCATOR ■ 191into nursing must be developed and tested. In addition, new models of nurs-
ing education are needed to prepare nurses for faculty and research posi-
tions earlier in their careers. These efforts must assume top priority if nursing
research is to continue to evolve. The lack of recognition and funding for this
type of research has greatly impaired progress in this area. (p. 1)■ THE DNP DEGREE AND TENURE
Tenure is another formidable issue within the discussion of the DNP- prepared nurses’
role in academe. Depending on the academic’s Carnegie Classification of Institutions of
Higher Education (2010), many DNP- prepared nurse educators are eligible for tenure.
When a college or university faculty guidelines state “terminal- degree” prepared nurse
educators should be included, they must recognize that the PhD is not always the “ter-
minal degree” for all disciplines; for example, a master’s in fine arts (MFA) is a terminal
degree. Although DNP- prepared faculty are teaching in graduate and undergraduate
nursing programs and are publishing, presenting, appraising, and using evidence and
integrated knowledge across disciplines (Boyer, 1996), along with demonstrating teach-
ing excellence (Redman et al., 2015), they have less time to do so when compared with
PhD nursing faculty (Smeltzer et al., 2015). The difference in time devoted to scholar-
ship may be the effect of the different degree focus of the DNP, additional practice hours
needed for certification maintenance, or additional teaching requirements in institu-
tions whose mission is teaching as opposed to research. Both PhD- and DNP- prepared
graduates need to increase their dissemination of research and evidence- based practice
findings, specifically the PhD- graduate’s findings related to rigorous research and ex-
ternal evidence and the DNP- graduate’s findings of evidence and internal findings re-
lated to quality improvement (Melnyk, 2013).
Tenure guidelines have been questioned for quite some time in academia and may
be a detriment in retention of nurse educators (Condon, 2015; Feldman, Greenberg,
Jaffe- Ruiz, Kaufman, & Cignarale, 2015). It is well known that nurses arrive at academia
later in life than other disciplines, thereby producing an unfair disadvantage to tenure
(Condon, 2015). Nurses from practice who enter academia are many times ill prepared
for the academic role and meeting tenure criteria (Gardner, 2014; Wittmann- Price, 2012).
Although DNP programs that are preparing students for educator roles are in direct
conflict with the intent of the AACN, many are being assimilated into educator roles as well
as leadership roles in nursing education in non- research- intensive colleges and universities
(Melnyk, 2013). It is not practical to try to stop this trend while there is an intensive nurs-
ing faculty shortage, but cultivate it as a potential part- solution by infusing the appropriate
mechanism to make those who choose to teach successfully. In congruence, Danzey et al.
(2011) discuss the DNP degree as the potential cure for the drastic nurse educator shortage
because of the proliferation of DNP graduates. Before a definitive stance can be made, more
data need to be generated about the outcomes of DNP- prepared and PhD- prepared nurse
educators as well as comparing the course’s content within degrees rather than just compar-
ing degree attainment. Another issue that has arisen in the literature related to nurse educa-
tors is mentorship. Mentorship is critical to nurse educators but the qualified nurse- educator
shortage may be counterproductive to a mentorship model (NLN, 2006). Overworked and
overstressed employees in high demand will not have the time or energy to properly mentor
new employees. However, many academic organizations with adequate resources have insti-
tuted mentoring models that have been very successful and productive (McAllister, Oprescu,
& Jones, 2014; Seekoe, 2014). Effective mentorship along with a foundation in nursing educa-
tion would better serve the future of the profession (Schoening, 2013).