The Lived Experience of Minority Nursing Faculty: A Phenomenological Study

BackgroundThe lived experience of full-time nursing faculty has recently been detailed. However, similar information is not available about minority nursing faculty.PurposeThe purpose is to explore the lived experience of minority nursing faculty.DesignThe design is a phenomenological study.MethodsFive female faculty with 8 to 13 years of experience in a full-time position shared experiences through face-to-face interviews. A simplified version of Hycner's five-step explicitation process was used for interpretation and data analysis.FindingsSix themes emerged—missing mentorship, lack of collegial support, harnessing external support, acculturation, feeling isolated, and I feel more like a minority here.DiscussionMinority nursing faculty face challenges similar to minority faculty in other disciplines in higher institutions. However, acculturation has not been discussed in phenomenological studies of similar populations.ConclusionThese findings have bearings on strategies for increasing minority nursing faculty and assessing mentoring practices in nursing programs.