Assimilation of Expert Clinician Into the Academy A Competency-Based Faculty Development Plan

Background: As expert clinicians are recruited to academic positions in response to nursing faculty shortages, comprehensive plans are needed for transitioning and role development. Problem: Schools of nursing often lack infrastructures to support and develop new faculty. Approach: Teammembers froman academic-clinical partnershipwith the Department of Veterans Affairs created a competencybased faculty development plan. Outcomes: A comprehensive self-directed faculty development plan was established that included a needs assessment, competency-based guide, and online modular resources. Conclusion: The faculty development plan provides a tailored approach to support the transition of clinicians to the academic role. This strategy is a potential solution to addressing the faculty shortage, retention, and role strain issues and builds capacity in schools of nursing. This innovative plan is a first step in establishing a mechanism to measure faculty competencies and professional growth.