More findings from the NLN/Carnegie National Survey: how nurse educators spend their time.

THIS ARTICLE CONTINUES OUR PRESENTATION of key findings from the NLN/Carnegie Foundation Survey: Nurse Educators: Compensation, Workload, and Teaching Practices. In the introduction to this series (May/June 2007), we touched on the issue of nurse educator workload. This article focuses specifically on the workload of full-time nurse educators in nonadministrative positions teaching in either prelicensure RN or graduate-level RN programs. While school was in session during the 2005-2006 academic year, respondents reported working, on average, 53.3 hours per week. Those work hours were reduced during vacation and break periods to just under 25 hours per week. One of the most immediately striking aspects of nurse educator workload is its homogeneity. For instance, given the steep learning curve associated with teacher training, one might expect a sharp reduction in overall work hours as faculty gain experience. However, this study finds that even faculty who had taught nursing for more than 30 years had workloads that were statistically indistinguishable from those of novices. (see Figure 1.) One notable, albeit not dramatic, exception to the consistency in workload levels is found among respondents with tenure. While tenured educators--like their untenured counterparts--reported working 53 hours per week during the school year, their workload falls below the average during break periods. When school is not in session, tenured faculty reported working 15 percent less than those without tenure--or an average of 22 hours per week. In general, faculty who teach exclusively in prelicensure RN programs have slightly lighter workloads than those who teach only at the graduate level and those who teach at both levels (52 hours per week during school periods/24 hours during breaks). However, these figures are weighted downward considerably by the presence within that category of faculty who teach only prelicensure students within community college and Carnegie-classified "master's college" settings--an intersection of attributes that produces notably lighter schedules, particularly during break periods. [FIGURE 1 OMITTED] Workload In and Outside the Primary Academic Institution A nontrivial percentage (9 percent) of survey respondents reported having more than one paid job. In an effort to gauge the full complexity of faculty members' obligations, respondents were asked to distinguish between time spent on tasks performed as part of their commitment to their primary academic institution (PAI)--the institution where they had the majority of teaching, advisement, and leadership responsibilities in a prelicensure RN or graduate-level nursing program--versus professional activities undertaken outside that institution. Overall, more than 62 percent of respondents reported doing some work in settings outside their PAL Moreover, the amount of time devoted to such work is significant--on average, seven hours per week during the school year and more than 10 hours per week during break periods. While as a fraction of total workload the amount of time devoted to work outside the PAI--13 percent during the school year--may appear minor, the percentage jumps considerably during break periods. During breaks, the number of hours faculty spend on tasks outside their obligations to their PAI increases to comprise 40 percent of the non-school-year workload. How Nurse Educators Spend Their Time Not surprisingly, teaching is the single most time-intensive activity undertaken by nurse educators during the school year, comprising more than 46 percent of work hours. With an additional 20 percent of work hours devoted to clinical student supervision, and 9 percent spent advising and mentoring students, fully three quarters of all faculty work hours are devoted to activities that involve direct student contact during the academic year. …