THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SELECTED PERSONAL AND ACADEMIC CHARACTERISTICS AND THE POSTDOCTORAL SCHOLARLY ACTIVITIES OF DOCTORALLY-PREPARED NURSE-FACULTY

This study determined the type and frequency of the postdoctoral scholarly activities of doctorally-prepared nurse-faculty in 18 of 22 collegiate schools of nursing nationally which confer nursing doctorates, and the relationship between these activities and each of six personal and academic characteristics. The study also determined factors perceived as contributors and hindrances to the scholarly productivity. The hypothesis proposed that each of four scholarly activities was related to each of six personal and academic characteristics. The study instrument, designed by the writer, was the Postdoctoral Scholarly Activities Inventory. Administered to 357 nurse-faculty, the instrument elicited data for hypotheses testing from 265 respondents (74.2%). Existing relationships among the variables under consideration were determined by the chi square test, using a level of significance of .05. Of the 24 hypothesized relationships, seven were statistically significant: professorial rank was related to publications, research, and presentations; tenure status was related to publications and presentations; marital status and number of dependent children were each related to research. "Personal satisfaction" contributed to the scholarly productivity of 72.3%, and a "heavy workload" was as a hindrance for 86.4%. The most productive scholarly period for 42.6% was two to four years postdoctorally. The 265 respondents were found to be highly productive in postdoctoral scholarly endeavors: 97% had published; 97% had delivered presentations; 85% had done research; and 66% reported personal educational activities. They were more prolific than non-nursing academics studied previously. The high frequency of scholarly productivity among the nurse-faculty studied suggests that: (1) they are adopting socially-defined masculine occupational norms for achievement and success in the academic setting; (2) they are career-oriented, in that they appear to be meeting criteria for promotion and tenure similar to that applied to non-nursing colleagues on campus; and (3) they are contributing to the expansion of nursing knowledge, and thereby are fulfilling expectations in the profession regarding the anticipated accomplishments of doctorally-prepared nurse-faculty.