Developing resilience: Stories from novice nurse academics

• Supportive collegial relationships were key contributing factors in the development of resilience.
• New nurse academics embraced positivity from student feedback and student success, which assisted in enhancing their confidence and self-esteem and contributed to their professional satisfaction and capacity to successfully transition.
• Embracing positivity assisted in coping with negative experiences and helped provide a buffer against stress and adversity and contributed further to developing resilience.
• The participants were able to reflect on negative experiences, and showed transformative growth by devising solutions that enabled them to overcome adversity and move forward.

SummaryBackgroundIt is acknowledged that novice nurse academics face many challenges on commencement of their new role. Most are recruited from the clinical arena, with little understanding of the academic triumvirate of teaching, research and service. They struggle with role expectation and experience feelings of isolation and anxiety.AimThe aim of this paper is to report on an exploration of 14 new nurse academics from two major nursing education institutions as they utilised and developed resilience building strategies.MethodThe paper is drawn from a qualitative study that sought to see the world through the eyes of the participants through storytelling. Data was collected using semi-structured, conversational style interviews. Interviews were audio recorded and revealed themes that captured resilience strategies.ResultsThese themes were: Developing supportive collegial relationships; Embracing positivity; and Reflection and transformative growth. The first theme, developing supportive relationships, provides insight into the mentoring process and the relationships developed with peers and colleagues. The second theme, embracing positivity, describes the factors that assisted them to face the adversity and challenges in the new role. The final theme, reflection and transformative growth, demonstrated participants’ reflecting on difficult situations and demonstrating the ability to learn from the experiences and move forward.ConclusionsThe strategies utilised by the participants in this study were key factors in the development of resilience which assisted in the transition from clinical nurse to academic. These strategies were often tacit and it is imperative that in a time of acute nurse academic shortages where retention is paramount, that employing organisations support employees and contribute to resilience development. Education on resilience building strategies is fundamental for all new academics and is essential in the transition from clinical nurse to academic.