Abstract
The objective of this study was to gain consensus on barriers, facilitators, and metrics of successful mentorship of doctorally prepared underrepresented minority (URM) nurse faculty.
This study convened a Delphi panel of doctorally prepared URM nurse faculty in the U.S. During Round 1, respondents were asked open-ended questions to identify barriers and facilitators, and metrics of successful mentorship of URM nurse faculty. Round 2 participants were asked to rate their level of agreement on a 5-point “Strongly Disagree,” to “Strongly Agree” scale. Round 3 convened a focus group.
Round 1 survey was sent to 107 doctorally prepared nurses, and 35 (invitation response rate, 32.7%) responded. Twenty-three of the participants in Round 1 completed Round 2 (65.7% retention rate). Focus group discussions centered on relationship building as essential to successful mentorship.
This study identified key barriers, facilitators, and metrics for effectively mentoring URM nurse faculty, emphasizing that faculty perceive authentic mentor-mentee relationships as more critical for their career success than traditional academic measures such as publications and grants.
•This Delphi study identified key barriers, facilitators, and metrics for mentoring underrepresented minority (URM) nurse faculty in tenure-track positions.•A significant gap exists in understanding the mentorship needs of URM nurse faculty, which are fundamental to their advancement on the tenure track.•URM nurse faculty experts in this 3-round Delphi study emphasized the importance of relational factors, such as authentic communication and mentor-mentee engagement, over traditional metrics like publications and grant success.•Institutional efforts to diversify mentor pools by race/ethnicity and seniority, along with providing protected time for mentoring activities, are fundamental to improving mentorship outcomes.