Considering a Career Change to a Nursing Faculty Position? Key Interview Questions to Ask and Why

Abstract

Nursing is a practice profession that transitions some bedside clinicians to another career, such as a nursing faculty member in a university nursing program. Given the current faculty shortage, many clinicians may be considering this kind of transition. The nurse considering such a career change can benefit from learning about the job expectations of academe and being prepared to ask questions in the initial interview that may impact future satisfaction and retention. Awareness of job expectations in the areas of teaching, scholarship, service, and practice and consideration of key levels of individuals who will participate in the series of interviews provide the background for such questions. The lessons learned presented in this article were written a year after one of the author's initial faculty interviews and reflect on the advantages of preparation.