The quest for workload equity in nurse faculty teaching

Background: While nurse faculty may believe that they teach more than faculty in other academic departments, their perceptions are difficult to corroborate when workload policies are not transparent at institutions. Purpose: This descriptive study was designed to examine inequities in teaching workloads between nurse faculty and their academic colleagues from the perspectives of Deans and Directors of Nursing Programs. Methods: A web-based, investigator-developed survey was emailed to Nurse Unit Leaders in spring, 2019. The final sample included 224 respondents. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics. Findings: Nurse Unit Leaders perceived that nurse faculty teach larger classes and more courses than their academic peers. Survey respondents attributed these and other variations at their institutions to the complexity of teaching responsibilities in nursing units and the limited understanding of these responsibilities by university administrators. Discussion: Ensuring equitable teaching workloads requires transparent policies and an organizational culture committed to faculty governance. Cite this article: SmithBattle, L., L'Ecuyer, K.M., Meyer, G., & Shatto, B. (2021, January/February). The quest for workload equity in nurse faculty teaching. Nurs Outlook, 69(1), 43-49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. outlook.2020.06.007.