Common content, delivery modes and outcome measures for faculty development programs in nursing and midwifery: A scoping review

Abstract

Background: Globally, there is a call for urgent investment in nursing and midwifery education as high-quality education leads to quality care provision. This call for investment includes a 'focus on faculty', that is, development of those who teach. However, challenges in the preparation and development of faculty have been identified and include lack of recognition of ongoing development, limited pathways for career progression, inadequate provision of, or access to, faculty development opportunities and a lack of research evaluating sustained impact of programs.

Objectives: The aim of this review was to identify, synthesise and report on common program content, modes of delivery and evaluation processes of faculty development programs in nursing and/or midwifery.

Methods: A scoping review was conducted following Joanna Briggs Institute guidance. A comprehensive search strategy was developed and conducted in six health and/or education focussed databases. Peer-reviewed articles, published in English in the last decade and with a primary focus on nursing and/or midwifery faculty were included in the review. References lists of included studies were searched and a search to identify relevant grey literature was conducted. Using systematic review software, titles and abstracts were reviewed by two reviewers with a third reviewer used to resolve discrepancies. Data were extracted and recorded, key characteristics were mapped and content analysis used to synthesise, analyse and report findings.

Results: Seventeen articles were included in the review and identified common content provided in nursing and midwifery faculty development programs. The predominant content was approaches for learning and teaching. Other common content was leadership, research and assessment practices. Modes for program delivery were most often a blend of online and face-to-face. Program evaluation was reliant on participants' self-reported measures of satisfaction and confidence and did not examine impact over time.

Conclusions and recommendations: Commonalities in program content primarily focussed on learning and teaching, but also included content linked to expected professional nursing and midwifery educator competencies such as leadership and research. However, a lack of content on the key faculty activity of curriculum design was noted and should be addressed in future program development. In addition, there was a lack of evaluation on the impact of different modes of delivery. Furthermore, an over-reliance on self-reported evaluation measures and a lack of longitudinal evaluation of impact on education practice and on student experience and outcomes. Future research should include evaluation of modes of delivery and impact on faculty practice over a sustained period.

Keywords: Academic Development; Faculty Development; Midwifery; Nurses; Nursing; Nursing education; Staff Development.