Intent to leave academia: perceptions and challenges of nurse faculty

The nurse faculty shortage is a significant and increasing concern in academic nursing communities with far-reaching implications for the nursing profession [1]. Nursing students’ educational and clinical requirements are inadequately addressed due to a shortage of qualified nursing faculty [1]. Critical problems within nursing academia revolve on the intent of nurse faculty members to withdraw from academia and the barriers they encounter. Nurse faculty play a central role in shaping the future of nursing by educating and mentoring the next generation of healthcare professionals. When qualified professionals leave academia, this leads to a significant deterioration in the quality of nursing education and poses a threat to the healthcare system. The departure of specialists from the academic field therefore means that new teaching staff must be trained and the workload for the remaining teaching staff increases.

Comprehending the underlying causes of the nurse faculty shortcoming will facilitate the development of mitigation strategies. Implementing research-based strategies, including supportive work environments, improved management practices, and competitive salaries, can help mitigate nursing faculty shortages, attract and retain skilled educators, and safeguard the nursing profession.

Recent studies have shown that more nurses are expressing their intention to leave the academic world [2‐4]. Furthermore, a comprehensive investigation has been conducted to reveal factors that lead to the departure of nursing faculty members from academic institutions.

A 2017 Ethiopian study revealed that an unhealthy work environment, insufficient facilities, poor management, and dissatisfaction with salaries are the main contributing factors for faculty members to leave academia. Out of 217 faculty members, 164 expressed their intention to leave, with 71.3% identifying this as a critical issue. Inadequate basic amenities and compensation also played a significant role in their decision to leave the academic community [2].

A Finnish study in Finland found that 50% of 3,760 participants expressed turnover intention, primarily due to lack of professional commitment, dissatisfaction with the school system, and heavy workload. Addressing these issues is crucial as faculty turnover can negatively impact institutional progress. Investigating these issues can help create a healthy working environment and promote faculty retention [3]. Ulmen and Lloyd found that 23.3% of nursing faculty experienced burnout and compassion fatigue, negatively affecting their intent to stay in academia [4]. Factors such as high workload [5], poor work quality [6], unsupported environment [7, 8], job dissatisfaction, and low commitment [8] contribute to faculty intent to leave academia. Addressing these predictors can help improve the work environment, reduce burnout, and enhance faculty satisfaction, retaining experienced faculty and ensuring quality education.

A study conducted by Roughton on the intentions of nursing faculty to leave identified several critical factors that influenced their decision, including retirement, workload, salary, career development opportunities, performance recognition, and work-life balance. These factors were all influenced by the six-domain model of the healthcare system, regulatory environment, financing system, education system, technology, and work environment [10]. Other factors that contribute to the retention of nurses include job satisfaction, education level, and age [11].

An alarming decline has been seen in the number of qualified nursing faculty members in the US. In 2019, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) reported a faculty vacancy rate of 7.2% [12]. This vacancy rate denotes the proportion of faculty positions that remain vacant in nursing schools throughout the US. The academic milieu, salary, incivility, excessive burden, and faculty aging are among the numerous factors that contribute to lower faculty retention, as documented in the literature [13‐15]. It is evident from the literature review that, even though a significant amount of research is dedicated to strategies for faculty retention, there is a need for additional research to concentrate on the retention of current faculty.

Faculty retention can begin with solid academic leadership within the institution and individual schools/colleges of nursing. Research shows that support and empowerment from deans and other leaders plays a critical role in improving faculty job satisfaction and fostering their intent to remain in their faculty role [16, 17]. Mentoring for new faculty members is an effective strategy to increase faculty retention [18, 19]. By providing guidance, support, and professional development opportunities, mentoring programs can help new faculty members navigate the challenges of their role and build a solid foundation for their academic careers. Mentoring can build confidence, foster teamwork, and enable the growth of new nurse faculty. The relationship between mentor and mentee promotes greater job satisfaction, making it an effective tool for faculty retention [18, 19].

Most research on faculty retention and intent to leave academia has relied primarily on quantitative methods. Aquino et al. conducted a quantitative study to explore burnout and intent to leave among nursing faculty in the US [20]. In particular, the study examined the differences between faculty with a PhD and those with a DNP degree. Participants considered novice faculty with five years or less of academic teaching experience experienced higher levels of stress, exhaustion, and burnout, possibly due to the demands associated with tenure-track requirements. However, the authors pointed out that a limitation of this study is that it did not include qualitative data collection. Therefore, to gain a deeper understanding of burnout in academia and the reasons for wanting to leave academia, it would be valuable to conduct interviews with participants and understand their feelings in depth. Such qualitative findings could shed further light on the experiences and motivations related to burnout and faculty turnover.

Turnover rates among nursing faculty pose challenges to maintaining a stable workforce, potentially disrupting nursing education and affecting healthcare delivery quality. Further qualitative research is needed to understand faculty perceptions of academia and their intentions to leave their positions in Saudi Arabia. This will contribute to nursing knowledge and help nursing administrators develop effective strategies to address this issue. Further studies are needed to understand faculty perceptions and develop effective strategies.

This study was conducted among nursing faculty in Saudi Arabia. The researchers used social media platforms (WhatsApp) to reach the participants who met the inclusion criteria for the study. In this social platform, there is a group of nurse faculties from all nursing colleges. A message with a link to the screening questions was sent to the group. All faculty members who were eligible were contacted personally to arrange a meeting. Interviews were conducted using semi-structured interview questions [Appendix 1] to gather in-depth knowledge and allow participants to express their feelings, challenges, and reasons for leaving academia. The interview questions were formulated based on the literature review, focusing on participants’ unique perspectives. This approach allows for a comprehensive understanding of participants’ perspectives and experiences, making their voices an integral part of the research. Participant interviews were planned and arranged in collaborative between the researchers and the participants. Interviews were digitally recorded via the Zoom platform to ensure that no valuable information was lost in the analysis. All recorded interviews were transcribed verbatim. Participants were asked to keep the video camera open during the interview to establish a good rapport with the participants and to easily record non-verbal reactions.

Data collection begun after IRB approval was obtained. The researchers used social media to recruit participants (WhatsApp), briefly describing the purpose of the study and providing a link to screen participants, in which they answered two questions and provided the researchers with their contact information. Over the course of three months, data was gathered through one-on-one online interviews, with the utmost respect for the privacy and time of the participants. A professional transcriptionist transcribed the digital audio recordings verbatim and reviewed them for accuracy. To ensure complete comprehension, nonverbal indicators, including body language, were observed, and documented as necessary. Our data had additional enhancements and bias was eliminated by taking notes during the interview.

Demographic information and an informed consent form were obtained from each participant prior to the interview. Zoom was employed to conduct the individual interviews, which was favorable for the participants. The estimated time for each interview was 30 to 45 min. Interviews were recorded via Zoom so that they could for later be transcribed verbatim coded. The interview questions began with general, open-ended questions to build rapport and trust with the participants, followed by questions related to targeting the participants’ beliefs about leaving academia. Then, additional probing questions were asked based on the participants’ responses. The interview procedure was designed to gather data until saturation was reached.

After the data had been collected and transcribed by a professional transcriptionist, the researchers checked the transcription for accuracy. The data obtained from the transcriptions were then analyzed using a five-step process described by Barritt et al. [22]. This process was designed to systematically analyze qualitative data and identify significant themes and patterns within the data. The researchers read the transcript and identified significant elements, statements, or ideas that emerged from the interview data. The researchers then began to group similar ideas or concepts and assigned preliminary themes to these groupings. To ensure the accuracy and validity of the analysis, researchers solicited input and clarification from participants, which can add depth to the analysis. The researchers compared the narratives of different participants to identify common themes that emerged across many interviews and to find unique themes. Finally, the researchers examined the literature on nurse faculty intending to leave.

Lincoln and Guba’s four criteria of credibility, dependability, confirmability, and transferability were implemented to ensure the study’s rigor [24]. The credibility of the findings was established through member checks. These checks involved sharing transcript summaries and initial interpretations with participants, seeking feedback and validation, and ensuring accurate representation of participants’ perspectives. Participants with experience who intended to leave academia were chosen to maintain trustworthiness and data rigor. The dependability of the data was enhanced by following the audit trail and field notes and storing all reflections throughout the audit. The data were reviewed and confirmed to ensure that they matched with the participants’ responses. To further enhance the confirmability of the findings, two expert researchers verified the accuracy of the data analysis. Personal biases and assumptions were documented in journals. To ensure the transferability of the findings, participants from various nationalities, regions, years of experience, and positions were included in this study. Member-checking, peer debriefing, audit trials, and reflexivity were used to verify data accuracy [25].

The researchers ensured that any involvement in the study was entirely voluntary. Researchers protected the privacy of the participants by using numerical identifiers instead of their actual names. The researchers confirmed that no information about the university would be recorded or shared. All research-related materials, such as notes, transcripts, consent forms, reflection journals, and audio recordings, were maintained securely stored on a computer that require password for access. Only approved researchers were able to access this computer. To prevent any unintended interruptions, the researcher used a waiting room feature during the Zoom interview session.