| This qualitative study explored perceptions of faculty members and nursing school administrators regarding clinical faculty practice in nursing education in two Ontario university schools of nursing. It explored how nurse educators valued the concept of faculty practice, their perceptions regarding their present practice as a contribution to scholarship, changes necessary to positively affect acceptance of practice as scholarship, and strategies for implementing changes.; Eighteen nurse educators participated in the study, two in administration and sixteen in teaching positions. Data were collected through audio-taped, unstructured, interviews on site at the selected universities. Participants were enabled to freely describe their experiences through the use of guiding questions. Further participant input was obtained by e-mail when additional exploration was required. Four major themes emerged: Views and Value of Faculty Practice, Stumbling Blocks to Clinical Faculty Practice, Getting Here, and Going Where?; Findings resulted in the development of an integrative framework of faculty practice and nursing scholarship in academe demonstrating the interrelationships between the four domains of nursing (administration, education, practice, and research) and Boyer's concept of scholarship (discovery, application, integration, and teaching). The study found that while faculty members believe all four domains are integral to the nursing profession and the teaching related to that profession, participants were frustrated that the discovery component of scholarship was valued so much more than the others. They expressed the view that the extent of emphasis that the university places on research as discovery and obtaining research funding leaves little room for faculty practice. They stated that faculty practice was hindered by 'lip-service' attention from faculty, lack of support from Senate, lack of consensus among faculty as to what constitutes faculty practice, lack of support by nursing school administration, and personal and professional costs associated with it. The gendered work of nursing was felt to marginalize scholarly endeavors of nurse educators with respect to the work of clinical faculty practice.; Further research is needed to determine scholarly outcomes of clinical faculty practice, develop criteria to link the scholarship outcomes of clinical faculty practice to the university's criteria for promotion and tenure, and to determine a means of facilitating these scholarship outcomes and recognizing the value of faculty practice in the criteria for promotion and tenure. |
