Workload and the nurse faculty shortage: Implications for policy and research

Although it is hypothesized that workload is a causative factor of the nurse faculty shortage and that nurse faculty workload is not equitable with that of faculty from other academic disciplines, it is not known whether evidence supports this assertion. This paper has three objectives: (1) to identify what is known about nurse faculty workload and its relationship to the nurse faculty shortage, (2) to determine whether evidence supports the assertion that nurse faculty workload is not equitable with faculty workload in other disciplines, and (3) to discuss policy and research implications for addressing workload and the nurse faculty shortage. Science Direct, medline, CINAHL, HealthSTAR databases, and the web were searched using combinations of nurse faculty, workload, academia, and equity. Findings suggest that the majority of research on nurse faculty workload has been limited to a single institution or region. Further, the literature lacks a comparison of nurse faculty workload with that of faculty from other disciplines. A study comparing workload across disciplines would shed light on the workload inequity hypothesis. More importantly, a systematic analysis of nurse faculty workload would facilitate the prioritization of strategies to address the shortage.