Novice faculty: encountering expectations in academia.

Abstract

New faculty rarely are prepared educationally or experientially for multiple roles and expectations. This phenomenological study was designed to uncover the meaning of the new faculty experience. A purposeful sample of nursing faculty, who were in their first year in a new position, were interviewed to gain an understanding of their experience. A hermeneutical method of data analysis revealed common meaning in the experience of new faculty. The focus of this article is on one theme--expectations--from the distinct perspective of the novice faculty participants. Novice faculty had expectations of what their new role would involve from their prior experience as students, and they perceived expectations of them by other faculty and students. With limited experience in academia, novice faculty described how they tried to put their own and others' expectations into perspective. The stories of these novice faculty reveal inadequacies in the ways new faculty are prepared and mentored. Implications arising from this study encourage revisiting the practices surrounding the preparation and retention of new nursing faculty.