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The influence of communities of practice on community college nurse educator identity

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

Nurses who transition from clinical practice to nursing education experience challenges which may affect their sense of professional identity and lead to frustration in the faculty role (Adams, 2011; Boyd & Lawley, 2009; Duffy, 2013; Schoening, 2013). That frustration may lead nurse educators to leave academia (Adams, 2011). Conversely, the construction of a strong professional identity has been shown to be a determining factor in faculty retention (Garbee & Killacky, 2008). The current nursing shortage calls for exploring ways to increase faculty recruitment and retention (NLN, 2015). This qualitative study explored the meaning of professional identity to community college nurse educators, and the influence of Communities of Practice on the construction process. From this research, community college nursing programs could gain valuable insight that would aid in the creation of academic cultures designed to better support nurse educators as they transition to the faculty role. This study found that for community college nurse educators, their meaning of professional identity is socially constructed in professional Communities of Practice and is closely associated with personal identity; it is who they are and what they do. Community college nurse educators never discard their nursing identities; instead they integrate them into the dual identity of nurse educator which develops with time and experience.

Degree

thesis:*
Grantor dc:publisher
University of Alabama Libraries
Year dc:date.issued
2018

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Cain, Lauren
Advisor dc:contributor.advisor
  • Atkinson, Becky M.
Contributors dc:contributor
  • Wright, Vivian H.
  • Carter-Templeton, Heather D.
  • Johnson, Paige Turner
  • Elliott, Denise H.

Subjects

dc:subject × 1

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • All rights reserved by the author unless otherwise indicated.
Language dc:language.iso
en_US, English

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Dc Identifier Other
u0015_0000001_0003030
Cain_alatus_0004D_13584
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:ir.ua.edu:123456789/5162

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
University of Alabama
Base URL
ir-api.ua.edu/oai/request
Last updated
2026-07-27
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
related terms
citation

Cain, Lauren. The influence of communities of practice on community college nurse educator identity. University of Alabama Libraries, 2018. http://ir.ua.edu/handle/123456789/5162