Faculty Practice: Is It Scholarly Activity?

Abstract

"Nursing is a science that is applied in practice and is deeply rooted in a fundamental commitment to meeting the health needs of people regardless of their life circumstances" (J. Edwards, 2002). How can the role of nursing educator be any different? New requirements from accrediting bodies, state nursing boards, and other authorities ensure we are meeting the needs of this generation of nursing students. How then do we protect our professional practice within the demands of the university? To answer this question, we will examine the available literature as it relates to nursing, education, professional practice, scholarship, and faculty evaluation. Implications for the nursing profession and education include defining faculty practice within the mission of the university, enhancing the working relationship between schools of nursing and clinical sites, and developing faculty practice guidelines with a clear definition of scholarship. The definition of scholarship that we recommend that meets the needs of practice disciplines is the definition of scholarship by Ernest Boyer (1990), specifically the scholarship of application. As defined by Boyer, the scholarship of application "…is one that both applies and contributes to human knowledge" (p. 23).