Improving nurse faculty job satisfaction: An action guide for academic nurse leaders

Background: Academic nurse leadership is associated with nurse faculty job satisfaction, yet there is a gap between theoretical understanding of leadership concepts and specific actionable behaviors that can be implemented to increase nurse faculty job satisfaction. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to create an evidence-based action guide for academic nurse leaders at all leadership levels to use to improve nurse faculty job satisfaction. Methods: A two-phase approach was used. In Phase 1, a review of the literature was conducted to identify core concepts of 5 relational leadership theories (adaptive, authentic, servant, transformational, and human-centered leadership in healthcare). In Phase 2, the leadership core concepts were cross analyzed and mapped to academic nurse leader behaviors that impact nurse faculty job satisfaction. Results: Human-centered leadership in healthcare emerged as the best-fit leadership theory to academic nurse leader behaviors that improve nurse faculty job satisfaction. Servant, transformational, and authentic leadership were somewhat aligned, and adaptive leadership was least aligned. Conclusion: Core concepts of human-centered leadership in healthcare informed the creation of an action guide for academic nurse leaders, which details getting to know your faculty, contributing to a positive work environment, and investing in yourself. The action guide can be used by academic nurse leaders at all levels to enhance nurse faculty satisfaction.