Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse Practitioner: Faculty Development and Retention Strategies

PART I. JOB DESCRIPTION

Description: Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Faculty

Psychiatric/Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Faculty Purpose: As faculty, the psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner (NP) guides students, in a clinical and classroom setting, as they prepare to work with individuals, families, or communities who suffer with mental illnesses and develop their diagnosis and plans of care. In addition, the successful candidate will collaborate with other faculty members in order to improve current curricula and perform clinical duties.

Educational Qualifications: Applicants must have at least one post-baccalaureate nursing degree and preferably hold a doctorate degree. However, we will also consider those who are currently pursuing their doctorates. In addition, applicants should be certified by the American Nurses Credentialing Center and state eligible for psychiatric/mental health NP authorization.  

Job Responsibilities: Must be able to perform all of the following (Puskar, 1996):

• Develop and teach clinical and informative curricula. 

• Maintain patient caseload within the psychiatric facility.

• Diagnose, supervise, and manage patients.

• Provide individual and group therapy sessions.

• Prescribe medications.

• Consult with psychiatrists.

PART II. CANDIDATE SELECTION PROCESS

1. Initial Qualifications: In this phase, we will screen applicant’s résumés and determine which candidates meet the minimum qualifications or the preferred qualifications. In addition, we will determine if the applicant is computer literate because there seems to be a growing trend for online curricula. We will discard résumés that do not meet the initial qualifications, and move the qualifying résumés on to the next stage. 

2. Past Experience: In this phase, we will sort the résumés based on minimum and preferred qualifications. Because we prefer experience and advanced education, we will take note of all candidates who have both. In the case that applicants do not meet our preferred requirements, we will base our decision on their minimum requirements; however, we will give applicants with the most experience preference. If candidates do not have experience, we will consider the ones who have the highest level of education. 

3. Selecting Prospective Interviewees: We will select candidates who have professional references, computer skills, and considerable education and/or experience to go on to the next phase of the selection process. 

4. Desired Personality Traits: Since this position relies on engaging students and taking care of patients, we require the candidate to have strong interpersonal communication skills. In addition, we would expect the candidate to have an outgoing and friendly personality and enjoy working with the public.  

5. The Interview: The following questions should be asked in order to establish an applicant’s qualifications for the position:

1. Where did you go to nursing school?

2. What post-baccalaureate degree do you hold?

3. Do you have clinical experience in psychiatric health care?

4. Do you have any previous experience in teaching and curriculum development?

5. Are you involved with any professional affiliations? 

The questions above will allow the hiring committee to gauge the applicant’s qualifications. In addition, the applicant’s answers will provide insight into his or her character. To get a better understanding of the applicant’s nature, we suggest the hiring committee ask the following open-ended questions:

1. What in particular drew you to mental health and psychiatric nursing?

2. Will you describe your teaching philosophy?

3. What do you find challenging as an instructor?

4. As a nurse, what are your strengths? 

5. How do you keep up with current medical findings and research? 

6. What do you feel that you could contribute to students? 

6. Hiring the Best Candidate: After the hiring committee interviews the candidates, they will select one applicant based on his or her qualifications, personality traits, and his or her answers to the questions in section 5. Once they select the candidate, the hiring committee should notify the successful applicant immediately because it is likely he or she is applying to several places at once. 

7. Rejection Letters: The hiring committee will send polite rejection letters to unsuccessful candidates and encourage them to reapply should a future position become available. It is in the best interest of the hiring committee to maintain good terms with future applicants because the amounts of qualified individuals are often sparse. 

PART III. FACULTY RETENTION PLAN

Because our population is growing, the demand for health care will increase as well. However, there is a shortage of registered nurses and nursing educators. Evans (2013) has noted “there [is] a shrinking population of full-time master's-prepared and doctorally prepared faculty due primarily to increasing faculty retirements and an inadequate pool of younger nurse educators” (p. 11). While we have to retain our nursing staff, we must also encourage them to pursue academia. Unfortunately, the pay difference is substantial; so many nurses prefer the clinical environment. Therefore, nursing education programs are under pressure to find ways to recruit and retain qualified nursing faculty. 

In the majority of cases, it is difficult to retain faculty because compensation is low and the cost of education is high. Because higher level education is expensive, many new nurses do not see the advantages of adding additional student loans to their everyday bills. Therefore, as Kowalski and Kelley (2013) assert “Solving the nursing faculty shortage will take behavior and priority changes by leaders from academia, health care, government, and existing and potential new nursing faculty” (p. 71). While we cannot change our government’s behavior, we can advocate educational loan repayment plans. Nursing faculty should make sure current students are aware of the NURSE Corps Loan Repayment Program. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (n.d.), the “NURSE Corps Loan Repayment Program puts registered nurses (including advanced practice nurses and nursing faculty) on a rewarding career path while paying off 60 percent of their unpaid nursing student loans in just 2 years” (no pag.). Because nursing faculty receives less pay, they do not have incentive to pay for higher education. However, a loan repayment program will alleviate the majority of the financial burden. On the other hand, loan repayment programs may only entice new recruits or students; therefore, individual states must consider strategies that retain their current faculty. 

Banks (2012) encourages facilities to develop scholarly trajectories that allow personal and professional development.  Nurse faculty has tremendous workloads; however, if they are able to attributes their core values into their work, they may feel their projects have more meaning. Bank (2012) asserts that nurse mentors have a valuable role in retaining faculty, and, with their guidance, they can encourage their mentees to plot “scholarly endeavors that complement overall life goals” (p. 354). It can be as little as asking mentees what matters to them the most and having them write it down. Because their work will have a personal purpose, Banks (2012) theorizes that it will encourage faculty to stay. 

In order to alleviate turnover due to burn out or fatigue, nursing faculty must have a healthy work environment. Kuehn (2010) has noted that “salary, benefits, workload, collegial environment, role preparation and professional development, scholarship, marketing and recognition, institutional support, and leadership” (p. 193) is essential to maintain a healthy work environment. The best way to encourage such an environment relies on adequate support. If faculty members have mentors, they will realize that they have support. Essentially, mentors will have to have a support system too. Encouraging others and caring for others, much like nurse provide for their patients, will foster a positive environment. For the most part, people either leave their jobs because of lack of pay or they are unhappy. In such an intense and stressful atmosphere, nursing faculty must have a venue in which they can vent or ask for help.  

In sum, while nursing shortages occur due to our aging population, we can implement strategies that retain our nurses. Offering support such as awareness programs for tuition reimbursement or mentorships will create a positive environment. Ultimately, it would be wise to fix our current environments in order to protect our future nurses’ health and happiness. 

References

Banks, J. (2013). Development of scholarly trajectories that reflect core values and priorities: A strategy for promoting faculty retention. Journal of Professional Nursing, 28(6), 351-359. Retrieved from https//:www.sciencedirect.com.

Evans, J. D. (2013). Factors influencing recruitment and retention of nurse educators reported by current nurse faculty. Journal of Professional Nursing, 29(1), 11-20. Retrieved from https//:www.sciencedirect.com.

Kowalski, K., & Kelley, B. M. (2013). What's the ROI for restoring the nursing faculty shortage? Nursing Economic$, 31(2), 70-76. Retrieved from http://www.ajj.com/services/pblshng/nej/default.htm

Kuehn, M. (2010). Creating a healthy work environment for nursing faculty. Creative Nursing, 16(4), 193-197.

Puskar, K. R. (1996). The nurse practitioner role in psychiatric nursing. The Nurse Practitioner Role in Psychiatric Nursing. Retrieved from http://www.nursingworld.org

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Loan repayment program. Health Resources and Services Administration. Retrieved from http://www.hrsa.gov/loanscholarships/repayment/nursing/