title: The meaning of being a nurse educator and nurse educators' attraction to academia: A phenomenological study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The nursing faculty shortage affects the number of nurse graduates. Understanding the meaning of being a nurse educator and what attracts nurses with graduate degrees to academia, are important considerations in addressing the recruitment and retention of faculty.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to explore the meaning of being a nurse educator and how nurse educators' understand their attraction to academia.
  
  
  METHODS
  The sample population included 15 nurse educators with a master's or doctoral degree, currently teaching in an undergraduate or graduate nursing program in a western Canadian city.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were collected through 15 face-to-face semi-structured interviews using an interview guide.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The meaning of being a nurse educator and how nurse educators understand their attraction to academia illustrates, from the perspective of the participants, how they give meaning to being a nurse educator and how they understand their attraction to academia. Six subthemes emerged: (1) opportunities, (2) wanting to teach, (3) seeing students learn, (4) contributing to the profession, (5) the unattractive, and (6) flexibility.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The faculty shortage is a complex issue, one that will persist into the foreseeable future. Understanding how nurse educators experience academia and how the meaning of these experiences attract them to academia, will facilitate the development of creative strategies to recruit and retain qualified nurse educators.
authors.affiliation: College of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Helen Glass Centre for Nursing, University of Manitoba, 89 Curry Place, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada R3T 2N2. Electronic address: francine.laurencelle@umanitoba.ca.
authors.forename: Francine L
authors.initials: FL
authors.lastname: Laurencelle
authors.affiliation: College of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Helen Glass Centre for Nursing, University of Manitoba, 89 Curry Place, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada R3T 2N2. Electronic address: judith.scanlan@umanitoba.ca.
authors.forename: Judith M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Scanlan
authors.affiliation: School of Advanced Studies, University of Phoenix, Milwaukee, WI, USA; W179N11561 Blackstone Circle, Germantown, WI 53022, USA. Electronic address: annebrett@email.phoenix.edu.
authors.forename: Anne Liners
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Brett
mesh_terms: D000046:Academic Medical Centers; D000328:Adult; D002170:Canada; D004511:Education, Nursing, Graduate; D005181:Faculty, Nursing / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D007858:Learning; D008875:Middle Aged; D009734:Nursing Faculty Practice; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D011361:Professional Competence; D013663:Teaching
keywords: Attraction to academia; Nurse educator; Nurse faculty shortage; Nursing shortage