性视界

Di Fang, PhD and George A. Zangaro, PhD, RN, FAAN
Nursing Outlook (2022), 70 (3), 487-495

Despite the strong support for DNP education, we have limited knowledge about completion and attrition of DNP students, which are important measures of achievement of DNP programs. The purpose of this study is to examine completion and attrition of students in DNP programs.

Highlights

• The completion rate of DNP students of the 2006-2015 matriculating cohorts was 77.3% and the attrition rate was 19.3%.
• On average, after matriculation, it took 3 years for the students to graduate and 1.9 years for the students who left without graduating to drop out.
• The mean age of the students at matriculation was 39.3 and the mean age at graduation was 42.2.
• Multivariate analysis found that male students, part-time students, students who were not faculty or held a part-time faculty position, and students in DNP programs with more than 50% of courses taught online were more likely to experience attrition.

Di Fang, PhD and Lin Zhan, PhD, RN, FAAN
Nursing Outlook (2021), 69, 340-349

The number of graduates from nursing PhD programs has not increased proportionally to meet the demand, and the recent decrease in enrollment in these programs has caused concerns in the nursing education community. The purpose of this study is to examine completion and attrition of students in nursing PhD programs.

Highlights

• The completion rate of nursing PhD students of the 2001-2010 matriculating cohorts was 74.2% and the attrition rate was 22.7%.
• On average, it took 5.7 years for the students to graduate and 3.7 years for the students who left without graduating to drop out.
• The mean age of the students at matriculation was 42.4 and the mean age at graduation was 47.5.
• Multivariate analysis found that male students, part-time students, students of post-baccalaureate programs, students who were not faculty or held a part-time faculty position, students of the 2006-2010 matriculation cohorts, and students in PhD programs with 25% or more of courses taught online were more likely to experience attrition.

Di Fang, PhD and Rosalie Mainous, PhD, APRN, FAANP, FAAN
Nursing Outlook (2019), 67(5), 578-585

The departures of chief academic administrators of nursing programs within a short tenure are likely to affect the operation of their institutions significantly. The purpose of this study is to identify individual and institutional characteristics that are associated with short tenues (less than 5 years) of deanships. Deans’ records were obtained from the membership database of the 性视界 (AACN) for 11 starting cohorts between 2001 and 2011. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used for the analysis.

Highlights

• The percentage of deans of the 2001-2011 starting cohorts who left their positions before 5 years is 41%. Gender, race/ethnicity, educational credentials of deans, and first deanship are not associated with leaving a deanship before 5 years.
• Bivariate analysis found that deans in newly created nursing schools are more likely than deans in established schools to leave their positions before 5 years.
• Deans in smaller programs are more likely than deans in established programs to leave their positions before 5 years.

Di Fang, PhD, and Karen Kesten, DNP, APRN, CCNS, CNE, CCRN-K
Nursing Outlook (2017), 65(5), 633-642

Faculty retirement has been a growing concern for the nursing education community given the impact it may have on preparing the future nursing workforce. The purpose of this study is to estimate faculty retirements in 2016-2025 and to assess the impact of retirements on the faculty workforce. The Least-Squares Regression and the Cohort Component Methods were used to project retirements. The findings suggest a sense of urgency for the nursing education community to address the impending exodus of senior faculty and to develop younger faculty for their successful succession.

Highlights

• The percentage of full-time nursing faculty aged 60 and older increased from 17.9% in 2006 to 30.7% in 2015.
• The mean age at retirement increased from 62.2 to 65.1 years.
• The projected faculty retirements for the next 10 years equal roughly one-third of total faculty in 2015.
• The retiring faculty are likely to come from faculty aged 60 or older in 2015, and faculty aged 50–59 in the same year are likely to be the replacements for the retiring faculty.
• The impact of the retiring faculty on the faculty workforce will be huge given their overrepresentation in doctoral attainment, senior rank, and ability for graduate-level teaching.
• Younger faculty who are likely to replace the retiring faculty possess fewer doctoral degrees, lower senior faculty ranks, and more limited in ability for graduate-level teaching.

Di Fang, PhD and Geraldine D. Bednash, PhD, RN, FAAN
Journal of Professional Nursing (2017), 33(1), 56-67

Increasing the pool of doctorally educated nurses pursuing faculty careers is imperative in the development of the nurse faculty workforce. This cross-sectional study aims to identify barriers and facilitators to academic careers for doctor of nursing practice (DNP) students. One thousand five hundred DNP students were randomly selected from nursing schools across the country to participate in our survey, and a 56.9% response rate was achieved.

Highlights

• Slightly more than 32% of DNP students have post-graduation plans for academic careers, indicating that DNP graduates are an important component of nurse faculty candidate pool.
• Compared with students who planned to pursue non-academic careers, DNP students who planned to have academic careers were more likely to have full-time and part-time faculty status. However, they did not show significant differences in other demographic and academic characteristics.
• Most students who planned to seek academic careers felt confident in carrying out many academic tasks, except for teaching informatics/technology courses.
• Students who planned to seek academic careers were more likely than students in the nonacademic group to be influenced by facilitators to faculty careers. On the other hand, they were less likely to be dissuaded by barriers to academic careers. These findings are also consistent for DNP students who were not a faculty member.
• DNP education has a positive, although small