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Transforming academic nursing: From balance through integration to coherence
Transforming Academic Nursing: From Balance Through Integration to Coherence NANCY E LANGSTON,PHD, RN,* W. RICHARDCOWLING,III, PHD, RN,t AND NANCYL. MCCAIN,DSN, RN:I:
Academic institutions continue to be challenged to enhance their productivity in the face of diminishing resources. Escalating demands on full-time faculty must come from a fundamental transformation in the focus and, hence, design of that work. This article presents a model of a mission transformed from the current representation of the tripartite activities involved with teaching, research, and service to a new representation of the inherent holism of that work. This transformation moves the academy's mission to a single, integrative focus on knowledge work. When the essence of the academy's unique mission is expressed as knowledge work, the unity of knowledge development, dissemination, and application can be actualized in the work lives of a community of scholars. A fuller realization of the inherently holistic nature of this knowledge work is seen as a transformation to coherence at the levels of university, unit, and scholar. Coherence within the academic lives of individuals, the collective community of scholars, and the broader organization is the essential feature for the long-term success of the institution and the career of a scholar. (Index words: Faculty work load; Institutional mission; Nursing faculty; Scholarship) J Prof Nurs 15:2832, 1999. Copyright © 1999 by W.B. Saunders Company
IOR T H E PAST DECADE, higher education
F faculty and administrators have felt beleagured and misunderstood by society in general and by politicians in particular, who make the primary funding decisions for the majority of our institutions. Higher education is being challenged to do more and more with the same, or even diminished, resources. Institutions have responded to these external forces in multiple ways, including increasing class sizes, increas*Dean, Schoolof Nursing,VirginiaCommonwealthUniversity, Richmond,VA. tAssociate Dean, Schoolof Nursing, VirginiaCommonwealth University,Richmond,VA. SAssociate Professor, School of Nursing, Virginia Commonwealth University,Richmond,VA. Address correspondenceand reprint requests to Dr Langston: Virginia CommonwealthUniversity,Schoolof Nursing, 1220 E Broad St, PO Box 980567, Richmond,VA23298-0567. Copyright© 1999 by W.B. SaundersCompany 8755-7223199/1501-0008510.00/0 28
ing the numbers of courses faculty are expected to teach, and/or increasing reliance on part-time faculty. Notwithstanding the myriad of responses that have been implemented by institutions, it is clear that the full-time faculty, as the core of the academy, perceive they are overwhelmed by the competing demands on their time and simply are not able to add more work to their already full work loads. Although there may be realistic opportunities for some increased efficiency within the academy, any major gains in our productivity cannot come from a model that adds to our work; advances must come from a fundamental transformation in the focus and, hence, design of that work. Some 35 years ago, Sanford (1962, as cited in Eble, 1983) succinctly captured the essence of the issue for the life of a scholar and, consequently, the work of a university in explaining that "in my more despairing moments it seems to me that the modern university has succeeded in separating almost everything that belongs together. Not only have fields of inquiry been subdivided until they have become almost meaningless, but research has been separated from teaching, teaching and research from action, and, worst of all, thought from humane feeling" (pp. ix-x). This reductionistic separation of the components of the life of a scholar (knowledge generation, dissemination, and application) is not surprising when viewed within the context of the development of higher education in America. Brodie (1986) described the sequential development of the American university and its role in educating for a "developing democracy." This model was derived from the English model of a university as a place for teaching of universal knowledge (eg, Harvard). Next emerged the land-grant university, which focused efforts to apply knowledge from the classroom to the expansion of the western frontier and agricultural productivity. Finally, there emerged the researchfocused university derived from the Germanic model wherein the essential focus was research (eg, the development of graduate programs at Johns Hopkins University). This linear development of types of
JournalofProfessionalNursing, Vol 15, No
1 (January-February), 1999: pp 28-32
29
TRANSFORMING ACADEMIC NURSING
institutions derived from divergent assumptions, and the institutions were created for different societal purposes. Thus, it is not surprising that efforts to create a modern institution that espouses a tripartite mission have been fraught with tension and ambiguity. The merger of these historically separate missions has created institutions in which missions are confused with activities. Furthermore, those activities are sometimes represented as unrelated and, most typically, as in competition for the scholar's time and energy.
The merger of these historically separate missions has created institutions in which missions are confused with activities.
The seemingly inherent conflict between these differentiated institutional missions, which have now been merged into one institution with an allencompassing mission, has evidenced itself through discussions of the activities and work load of the faculty, as if that work must be managed by carefully balancing the activities at the level of the individual faculty member and/or by distributing the activities among the faculty of the unit in a differentiated approach (Anderson, 1986; Andreoli & Musser, 1984; Freund, Ulin, & Pierce, 1990; Kirkpatrick, Rose, & Thiele, 1987; Kruger & Washburn, 1987; Melland, 1995). However, Grams and Christ (1992) argued that the current model of discussing and managing faculty work and work load are reductionistic power models that distort the nature of the work. They asserted that "faculty become enslaved to production and they are reduced from the dignity of selfgenerative activity to the isolation of production categories of teaching, grants, research, and service" (p. 99). They further suggested the potential for transforming this past and current reductionistic approach into a holistic approach for envisioning and engaging in our work. These authors maintained that, in fact, the success of the modern university and, of particular interest, our schools of nursing lies in a transformation of these organizations such that their missions are clear and visible to people both within and outside the academy. This article presents a model of a mission transformed from the current representation of the tripartite mission of teaching, research, and service to a new representation of the inherent holism of that work, viewed in terms of the development,
dissemination, and application of knowledge. This transformation moves the stated mission from a simple listing of discrete activities to a single, integrative focus on knowledge work.
Integration Boyer's (1990) seminal work, Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professorate, challenged at the national level the representation of the American university as engaged in a set of competing activities. Boyer attempted to reframe the work of the academy as entirely derived from the critical and intellectual work of the professorate (scholars). This report to the Carnegie Foundation had the potential to create a transformation in the vision of the mission of the American university and the consequent nature of the work of the professor. However, the visionary potential of the work became mired in the semantics of the redefinition of scholarship. In effect, Boyer attempted to redefine a term theretofore reserved for generation of new knowledge (research and creative activities) to include teaching and service within the rubric of scholarship. As a consequence of this debate at the level of activity (research/teaching) rather than the essence of mission, the transforming potential of this work was significantly eroded. Within nursing education, Langford et al. (Langford, 1990; Langford et al., 1987) came close to developing a model of faculty work that represented the wholeness of the work in describing a "reintegration" of the work of nurses, nurse faculty, and schools of nursing. However, that model falls short of a transformation by virtue of its focus on the integration of differentiated activities. The problem common to these two potentially transforming vision~ is the focus on the activities and their realignment or redefinition, rather than on the holism of the academy's mission. With even a cursory review of nursing as a discipline, the importance of the integrative nature of our knowledge work becomes readily apparent. For us, the development of knowledge (research) can be conducted within the structure of the National Institute of Nursing Research and its intramural and extramural research programs, dissemination of knowledge (teaching) can be conducted within community colleges or even hospital schools, and service is dearly the essential mission of our hospitals and other health care agencies. Yet it is precisely the synergism, or holism, of
LANGSTON, COWLING, AND McCAIN
3O
our knowledge work that demands the existence of our university programs for essential service to society.
Coherence
A transforming vision must embrace the holistic essence of the university's mission as knowledge work. When the essence of the academy's unique mission is expressed as knowledge work, the unity of knowledge development, dissemination, and application can be actualized in the life of the scholar. A fuller realization of the inherently holistic nature of this knowledge work is seen as a transformation to coherence at the levels of university, unit, and scholar. This unity of mission is most effectively achieved through the creation of an organization that promotes and supports coherent work lives of a community of scholars. The differentiating feature of an integrated life and a coherent life is the focus on doing in an integrated life (bringing activities into alignment) and on being in a coherent life (emergence of the three activities from a single focus of knowledge work). This differentiation is analogous to the work of Quinn (1997) in the development of a healing model for an integrative health care system. Quinn refers to healing as "the emergence of right relationship at or among any one or more levels of the human experience" (p. 1). This right relationship increases coherence of the whole; decreases chaos or disorder in the whole; maximizes energy available to the whole to do the work of the system; maximizes freedom, autonomy, and choice; and increases the capacity of the whole to creatively unfold (Quinn). The clarifying and empowering capacities of coherence are analogous to the monochromatic intensity of light created by laser amplification: It is the coherence itself that creates the inherent power. TOWARD A COHERENT ORGANIZATION
The School of Nursing at Virginia Commonwealth University is involved in transformational work that involves an evolution from a school that espoused a primary mission of teaching, through a phase that added the activity of research and clarified service as practice in addition to institutional committee work, to its current efforts to create a climate to facilitate coherent faculty lives within a community of scholars. The unfolding characteristics of this transformational work at the organizational level will be reported elsewhere.
TOWARD A COHERENT UNIT
Coherence in academic life is a major differentiating characteristic of work that reflects a pattern of focused wholeness in the content and expression of knowledge development, dissemination, and application. Coherence can characterize the individual academician or a group of academicians and staff that comprise a department or other organizational unit. An inherent assumption of this perspective is that with coherence in the scholarship, teaching, and service of the faculty member comes positive consequences for knowledge work. Attention to focused wholeness in one's work gives the faculty member the opportunity to seek depth and precision in knowledge about phenomena and concerns central to nursing through the activities of scholarship. Teaching and service activities then reflect the sharing and application of knowledge that is derived from one's scholarship. Coherence in scholarship, teaching, and service creates a situation in which these three elements inform one another. An active program of scholarship requires a broad understanding of current theories and practices associated with a central area of study. The scholar brings this knowledge to teaching and learning activities. Questioning, dialogue, discussion, and debate offer an opportunity for clarifying the area of study while disseminating critical information to students. Teaching sharpens the focus of the work and skills of communicating knowledge derived from the program of scholarship. This happens across all levels of education and in both the classroom and practice learning environments. Using knowledge in the aim of human betterment is the central concept of service. This can take the form of direct or indirect use of knowledge and can be related to individuals, groups, families, organizations, or communities. Application of knowledge allows the faculty member to learn more about the situational contexts of the area of study and generates further questions that will extend knowledge development. Application itself can take the form of further research. Forms or aspects of a research project can be an integral part of a course. In turn, the research might create a way of serving a community of persons with a particular need. One potential consequence is a higher degree of efficiency in the faculty member's work through maximizing the coherence of research, teaching, and service. In a coherent academic life, the distinctions between scholarship, teaching, and service begin to evaporate.
31
TRANSFORMING ACADEMIC NURSING
TOWARD A COHERENT FACULTY LIFE
Faculty create coherent lives within this organizational context by focusing on essential knowledge work rather than "activities." Focusing on a clearly delimited area of nursing knowledge, the scholar can build a coherent life from an initial focus on teaching, research, and/or service. For example, an initial interest in psychosocial aspects of illness may begin to evolve through teaching centered around chronic illness and preliminary research on stress and coping among persons with chronic illnesses. With further development in research methods and scholarship related to stress and coping in chronic illness, a research program grounded in psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) may evolve. The maturing scholar may then conduct PNI-based research with a selected population; focus teaching efforts across student levels in such areas as psychosocial theories in advanced nursing practice, PNI, and human responses to illness; and practice using a community clinic-based case-management approach or providing stress management training for persons with chronic illnesses. Such integration enables transformation to a coherent faculty life when, for example, the individual's teaching work includes research courses and/or courses related to stress/ adaptation or PNI; students are actively involved in the scholar's research program and learn generalist or advanced practice strategies through participation with the faculty member in case management or stress management groups for persons with human immunodeficiency virus disease; and organizational work
COHERENT
involves service on intramural grants review and research advisory committees. An example of a coherent faculty life model is presented in Fig 1. Conclusion
Coherence at the organizational, unit, and faculty levels requires manifestly focusing on the institution's essential, holistic mission of knowledge work. Values and ideals associated with coherent academic life reflect a desire for transforming the academic enterprise. Each "activity element" related to the unitary mission of the university is enhanced through coherence. There is a shift away from valuing activities separately and toward appreciating the wholeness of a coherent program of knowledge development, dissemination, and application. Not only is this beneficial to the university, but the quality of the individual's academic life also is enriched through coherence. The ability of the university to respond to educational as well as health care needs of the society is intensified and strengthened. Coherence within the academic lives of individuals, the collective community of scholars, and the broader organization is the essential feature for the long-term success of the institution and the career of a scholar. Because of our fundamental disciplinary model that focuses on holism, providing us a vision and experience from which to derive academic holism, schools of nursing are well positioned to provide leadership in modeling this transformation for all of higher education.
FACULTY
KNOWLEDGE
WORK
PSYCHONEUROIMMUNOLOGY Faculty
NURSING CARE OF PERSONS WITH HIV DISEASE Community Clinic-based Research Program in Stress Case Management Management Interventions
I Bachelor's Students Ambulatory care fur health promotion and management of chronic health problems
Figure 1. Example of coherent faculw life.
[
r
Master's Students Advanced Practice Nursing (e.g., primary care)
1 Doctoral Students Knowledge Development and Research Experience
LANGSTON, COWLING, AND McCAIN
32
References
Anderson, M. A. (1986). BSN faculty workload: Its impact on research. Nursing Outlook, 34, 199. Andreoli, K. G., & Musser, L. A. (1984). Improving nursing faculty productivity. Nurse Educator, 9(2), 9-15. Boyer, E. L. (1990). Scholarship reconsidered:Prioritiesof theprofessoriate. Princeton, NJ: Carnegie Foundation. Brodie, B. (1986). Impact of doctoral programs on nursing education. Journal of ProfessionalNursing, 2, 350357. Eble, K. E. (1983). The aims of college teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Freund, C. M., Ulin, P. R., & Pierce, S. E (1990). The dialectic of freedom and accountability: Balancing faculty work load. Nurse Educator, •5(3), 14-19. Grams, K. M., & Christ, M. A. (1992). Faculty work load formulas in nursing education: A critical theory perspective. Journal of ProfessionalNursing, & 96-104. Kirkpatrick, M. K., Rose, M. A., & Thiele, R. (1987).
Faculty workload measures: The time is right. Journal of
Nursing Education, 26, 84-86. Kruger, S., & Washburn, J. (1987). Tenure and promotion: An update on university nursing faculty. Journal of Nursing Education, 26, 182-188. Langford, T. L. (1990). Managing and being managed."
Preparation for reintegrated professional nursing practice. Lubbock, TX: Landover. Langford, T. L., Ridenour, N., Dadich, K. A., YoderWise, P. S., Cox, H. C., Axton, S., Harsanyi, B., & Cooke, S. (1987). Past unification to reintegration: One school's effort to emphasize wholeness in professional nursing. Journal of ProfessionalNursing, 3, 362-371. Melland, H. I. (1995). Nurse educators and the demands of research. Journal of Nursing Education, 34, 71-76. Quinn, J. E (1997). Healing: A model for an integrative health care system. Advanced PracticeNursing Quarterly, 3, 1-7.
Academic institutions continue to be challenged to enhance their productivity in the face of diminishing resources. Escalating demands on full-time faculty must come from a fundamental transformation in the focus and, hence, design of that work. This article presents a model of a mission transformed from the current representation of the tripartite activities involved with teaching, research, and service to a new representation of the inherent holism of that work. This transformation moves the academy's mission to a single, integrative focus on knowledge work. When the essence of the academy's unique mission is expressed as knowledge work, the unity of knowledge development, dissemination, and application can be actualized in the work lives of a community of scholars. A fuller realization of the inherently holistic nature of this knowledge work is seen as a transformation to coherence at the levels of university, unit, and scholar. Coherence within the academic lives of individuals, the collective community of scholars, and the broader organization is the essential feature for the long-term success of the institution and the career of a scholar. (Index words: Faculty work load; Institutional mission; Nursing faculty; Scholarship) J Prof Nurs 15:2832, 1999. Copyright © 1999 by W.B. Saunders Company
IOR T H E PAST DECADE, higher education
F faculty and administrators have felt beleagured and misunderstood by society in general and by politicians in particular, who make the primary funding decisions for the majority of our institutions. Higher education is being challenged to do more and more with the same, or even diminished, resources. Institutions have responded to these external forces in multiple ways, including increasing class sizes, increas*Dean, Schoolof Nursing,VirginiaCommonwealthUniversity, Richmond,VA. tAssociate Dean, Schoolof Nursing, VirginiaCommonwealth University,Richmond,VA. SAssociate Professor, School of Nursing, Virginia Commonwealth University,Richmond,VA. Address correspondenceand reprint requests to Dr Langston: Virginia CommonwealthUniversity,Schoolof Nursing, 1220 E Broad St, PO Box 980567, Richmond,VA23298-0567. Copyright© 1999 by W.B. SaundersCompany 8755-7223199/1501-0008510.00/0 28
ing the numbers of courses faculty are expected to teach, and/or increasing reliance on part-time faculty. Notwithstanding the myriad of responses that have been implemented by institutions, it is clear that the full-time faculty, as the core of the academy, perceive they are overwhelmed by the competing demands on their time and simply are not able to add more work to their already full work loads. Although there may be realistic opportunities for some increased efficiency within the academy, any major gains in our productivity cannot come from a model that adds to our work; advances must come from a fundamental transformation in the focus and, hence, design of that work. Some 35 years ago, Sanford (1962, as cited in Eble, 1983) succinctly captured the essence of the issue for the life of a scholar and, consequently, the work of a university in explaining that "in my more despairing moments it seems to me that the modern university has succeeded in separating almost everything that belongs together. Not only have fields of inquiry been subdivided until they have become almost meaningless, but research has been separated from teaching, teaching and research from action, and, worst of all, thought from humane feeling" (pp. ix-x). This reductionistic separation of the components of the life of a scholar (knowledge generation, dissemination, and application) is not surprising when viewed within the context of the development of higher education in America. Brodie (1986) described the sequential development of the American university and its role in educating for a "developing democracy." This model was derived from the English model of a university as a place for teaching of universal knowledge (eg, Harvard). Next emerged the land-grant university, which focused efforts to apply knowledge from the classroom to the expansion of the western frontier and agricultural productivity. Finally, there emerged the researchfocused university derived from the Germanic model wherein the essential focus was research (eg, the development of graduate programs at Johns Hopkins University). This linear development of types of
JournalofProfessionalNursing, Vol 15, No
1 (January-February), 1999: pp 28-32
29
TRANSFORMING ACADEMIC NURSING
institutions derived from divergent assumptions, and the institutions were created for different societal purposes. Thus, it is not surprising that efforts to create a modern institution that espouses a tripartite mission have been fraught with tension and ambiguity. The merger of these historically separate missions has created institutions in which missions are confused with activities. Furthermore, those activities are sometimes represented as unrelated and, most typically, as in competition for the scholar's time and energy.
The merger of these historically separate missions has created institutions in which missions are confused with activities.
The seemingly inherent conflict between these differentiated institutional missions, which have now been merged into one institution with an allencompassing mission, has evidenced itself through discussions of the activities and work load of the faculty, as if that work must be managed by carefully balancing the activities at the level of the individual faculty member and/or by distributing the activities among the faculty of the unit in a differentiated approach (Anderson, 1986; Andreoli & Musser, 1984; Freund, Ulin, & Pierce, 1990; Kirkpatrick, Rose, & Thiele, 1987; Kruger & Washburn, 1987; Melland, 1995). However, Grams and Christ (1992) argued that the current model of discussing and managing faculty work and work load are reductionistic power models that distort the nature of the work. They asserted that "faculty become enslaved to production and they are reduced from the dignity of selfgenerative activity to the isolation of production categories of teaching, grants, research, and service" (p. 99). They further suggested the potential for transforming this past and current reductionistic approach into a holistic approach for envisioning and engaging in our work. These authors maintained that, in fact, the success of the modern university and, of particular interest, our schools of nursing lies in a transformation of these organizations such that their missions are clear and visible to people both within and outside the academy. This article presents a model of a mission transformed from the current representation of the tripartite mission of teaching, research, and service to a new representation of the inherent holism of that work, viewed in terms of the development,
dissemination, and application of knowledge. This transformation moves the stated mission from a simple listing of discrete activities to a single, integrative focus on knowledge work.
Integration Boyer's (1990) seminal work, Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professorate, challenged at the national level the representation of the American university as engaged in a set of competing activities. Boyer attempted to reframe the work of the academy as entirely derived from the critical and intellectual work of the professorate (scholars). This report to the Carnegie Foundation had the potential to create a transformation in the vision of the mission of the American university and the consequent nature of the work of the professor. However, the visionary potential of the work became mired in the semantics of the redefinition of scholarship. In effect, Boyer attempted to redefine a term theretofore reserved for generation of new knowledge (research and creative activities) to include teaching and service within the rubric of scholarship. As a consequence of this debate at the level of activity (research/teaching) rather than the essence of mission, the transforming potential of this work was significantly eroded. Within nursing education, Langford et al. (Langford, 1990; Langford et al., 1987) came close to developing a model of faculty work that represented the wholeness of the work in describing a "reintegration" of the work of nurses, nurse faculty, and schools of nursing. However, that model falls short of a transformation by virtue of its focus on the integration of differentiated activities. The problem common to these two potentially transforming vision~ is the focus on the activities and their realignment or redefinition, rather than on the holism of the academy's mission. With even a cursory review of nursing as a discipline, the importance of the integrative nature of our knowledge work becomes readily apparent. For us, the development of knowledge (research) can be conducted within the structure of the National Institute of Nursing Research and its intramural and extramural research programs, dissemination of knowledge (teaching) can be conducted within community colleges or even hospital schools, and service is dearly the essential mission of our hospitals and other health care agencies. Yet it is precisely the synergism, or holism, of
LANGSTON, COWLING, AND McCAIN
3O
our knowledge work that demands the existence of our university programs for essential service to society.
Coherence
A transforming vision must embrace the holistic essence of the university's mission as knowledge work. When the essence of the academy's unique mission is expressed as knowledge work, the unity of knowledge development, dissemination, and application can be actualized in the life of the scholar. A fuller realization of the inherently holistic nature of this knowledge work is seen as a transformation to coherence at the levels of university, unit, and scholar. This unity of mission is most effectively achieved through the creation of an organization that promotes and supports coherent work lives of a community of scholars. The differentiating feature of an integrated life and a coherent life is the focus on doing in an integrated life (bringing activities into alignment) and on being in a coherent life (emergence of the three activities from a single focus of knowledge work). This differentiation is analogous to the work of Quinn (1997) in the development of a healing model for an integrative health care system. Quinn refers to healing as "the emergence of right relationship at or among any one or more levels of the human experience" (p. 1). This right relationship increases coherence of the whole; decreases chaos or disorder in the whole; maximizes energy available to the whole to do the work of the system; maximizes freedom, autonomy, and choice; and increases the capacity of the whole to creatively unfold (Quinn). The clarifying and empowering capacities of coherence are analogous to the monochromatic intensity of light created by laser amplification: It is the coherence itself that creates the inherent power. TOWARD A COHERENT ORGANIZATION
The School of Nursing at Virginia Commonwealth University is involved in transformational work that involves an evolution from a school that espoused a primary mission of teaching, through a phase that added the activity of research and clarified service as practice in addition to institutional committee work, to its current efforts to create a climate to facilitate coherent faculty lives within a community of scholars. The unfolding characteristics of this transformational work at the organizational level will be reported elsewhere.
TOWARD A COHERENT UNIT
Coherence in academic life is a major differentiating characteristic of work that reflects a pattern of focused wholeness in the content and expression of knowledge development, dissemination, and application. Coherence can characterize the individual academician or a group of academicians and staff that comprise a department or other organizational unit. An inherent assumption of this perspective is that with coherence in the scholarship, teaching, and service of the faculty member comes positive consequences for knowledge work. Attention to focused wholeness in one's work gives the faculty member the opportunity to seek depth and precision in knowledge about phenomena and concerns central to nursing through the activities of scholarship. Teaching and service activities then reflect the sharing and application of knowledge that is derived from one's scholarship. Coherence in scholarship, teaching, and service creates a situation in which these three elements inform one another. An active program of scholarship requires a broad understanding of current theories and practices associated with a central area of study. The scholar brings this knowledge to teaching and learning activities. Questioning, dialogue, discussion, and debate offer an opportunity for clarifying the area of study while disseminating critical information to students. Teaching sharpens the focus of the work and skills of communicating knowledge derived from the program of scholarship. This happens across all levels of education and in both the classroom and practice learning environments. Using knowledge in the aim of human betterment is the central concept of service. This can take the form of direct or indirect use of knowledge and can be related to individuals, groups, families, organizations, or communities. Application of knowledge allows the faculty member to learn more about the situational contexts of the area of study and generates further questions that will extend knowledge development. Application itself can take the form of further research. Forms or aspects of a research project can be an integral part of a course. In turn, the research might create a way of serving a community of persons with a particular need. One potential consequence is a higher degree of efficiency in the faculty member's work through maximizing the coherence of research, teaching, and service. In a coherent academic life, the distinctions between scholarship, teaching, and service begin to evaporate.
31
TRANSFORMING ACADEMIC NURSING
TOWARD A COHERENT FACULTY LIFE
Faculty create coherent lives within this organizational context by focusing on essential knowledge work rather than "activities." Focusing on a clearly delimited area of nursing knowledge, the scholar can build a coherent life from an initial focus on teaching, research, and/or service. For example, an initial interest in psychosocial aspects of illness may begin to evolve through teaching centered around chronic illness and preliminary research on stress and coping among persons with chronic illnesses. With further development in research methods and scholarship related to stress and coping in chronic illness, a research program grounded in psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) may evolve. The maturing scholar may then conduct PNI-based research with a selected population; focus teaching efforts across student levels in such areas as psychosocial theories in advanced nursing practice, PNI, and human responses to illness; and practice using a community clinic-based case-management approach or providing stress management training for persons with chronic illnesses. Such integration enables transformation to a coherent faculty life when, for example, the individual's teaching work includes research courses and/or courses related to stress/ adaptation or PNI; students are actively involved in the scholar's research program and learn generalist or advanced practice strategies through participation with the faculty member in case management or stress management groups for persons with human immunodeficiency virus disease; and organizational work
COHERENT
involves service on intramural grants review and research advisory committees. An example of a coherent faculty life model is presented in Fig 1. Conclusion
Coherence at the organizational, unit, and faculty levels requires manifestly focusing on the institution's essential, holistic mission of knowledge work. Values and ideals associated with coherent academic life reflect a desire for transforming the academic enterprise. Each "activity element" related to the unitary mission of the university is enhanced through coherence. There is a shift away from valuing activities separately and toward appreciating the wholeness of a coherent program of knowledge development, dissemination, and application. Not only is this beneficial to the university, but the quality of the individual's academic life also is enriched through coherence. The ability of the university to respond to educational as well as health care needs of the society is intensified and strengthened. Coherence within the academic lives of individuals, the collective community of scholars, and the broader organization is the essential feature for the long-term success of the institution and the career of a scholar. Because of our fundamental disciplinary model that focuses on holism, providing us a vision and experience from which to derive academic holism, schools of nursing are well positioned to provide leadership in modeling this transformation for all of higher education.
FACULTY
KNOWLEDGE
WORK
PSYCHONEUROIMMUNOLOGY Faculty
NURSING CARE OF PERSONS WITH HIV DISEASE Community Clinic-based Research Program in Stress Case Management Management Interventions
I Bachelor's Students Ambulatory care fur health promotion and management of chronic health problems
Figure 1. Example of coherent faculw life.
[
r
Master's Students Advanced Practice Nursing (e.g., primary care)
1 Doctoral Students Knowledge Development and Research Experience
LANGSTON, COWLING, AND McCAIN
32
References
Anderson, M. A. (1986). BSN faculty workload: Its impact on research. Nursing Outlook, 34, 199. Andreoli, K. G., & Musser, L. A. (1984). Improving nursing faculty productivity. Nurse Educator, 9(2), 9-15. Boyer, E. L. (1990). Scholarship reconsidered:Prioritiesof theprofessoriate. Princeton, NJ: Carnegie Foundation. Brodie, B. (1986). Impact of doctoral programs on nursing education. Journal of ProfessionalNursing, 2, 350357. Eble, K. E. (1983). The aims of college teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Freund, C. M., Ulin, P. R., & Pierce, S. E (1990). The dialectic of freedom and accountability: Balancing faculty work load. Nurse Educator, •5(3), 14-19. Grams, K. M., & Christ, M. A. (1992). Faculty work load formulas in nursing education: A critical theory perspective. Journal of ProfessionalNursing, & 96-104. Kirkpatrick, M. K., Rose, M. A., & Thiele, R. (1987).
Faculty workload measures: The time is right. Journal of
Nursing Education, 26, 84-86. Kruger, S., & Washburn, J. (1987). Tenure and promotion: An update on university nursing faculty. Journal of Nursing Education, 26, 182-188. Langford, T. L. (1990). Managing and being managed."
Preparation for reintegrated professional nursing practice. Lubbock, TX: Landover. Langford, T. L., Ridenour, N., Dadich, K. A., YoderWise, P. S., Cox, H. C., Axton, S., Harsanyi, B., & Cooke, S. (1987). Past unification to reintegration: One school's effort to emphasize wholeness in professional nursing. Journal of ProfessionalNursing, 3, 362-371. Melland, H. I. (1995). Nurse educators and the demands of research. Journal of Nursing Education, 34, 71-76. Quinn, J. E (1997). Healing: A model for an integrative health care system. Advanced PracticeNursing Quarterly, 3, 1-7.