Degree Name
Nursing Practice, DNP
Publication Date
8-7-2026
First Advisor
Lisa Drake
Second Advisor
Sandy King
Abstract
A formal mentoring program is an effective approach for enhancing mentee satisfaction and self-efficacy and decreasing turnover rates. Although evidence supports the benefits of mentoring, many universities lack formal mentoring programs for adjunct faculty. Utilizing the PDSA framework, this quality improvement Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) project executed and evaluated a structured adjunct faculty mentoring program to improve faculty self-efficacy and mentee satisfaction. The project was led by Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory and the Theory of Change and used a pre- and post-test design involving adjunct nursing faculty members with fewer than three years of academic teaching experience. Mentors and mentees engaged in structured mentor pairings, scheduled meetings, and ongoing support, while using standardized mentoring resources, including an online clinical notebook. Outcomes were assessed using the Self-Efficacy in Clinical Teaching (SECT) instrument and the Mentorship Effectiveness Scale (MES). Descriptive statistics summarized participant responses, and Shapiro-Wilk tests were used to confirm normality. Paired-samples t-tests compared pre- and post-intervention scores, with significance set at α = .05. The SECT indicated significant improvement in self-efficacy, increasing from M = 5.16 (SD = 1.34) to M = 5.60 (SD = 1.00), t(9) = 3.44, p = .007, d = 1.09. The MES also demonstrated significant improvement in mentoring effectiveness, t(6) = −4.31, p = .005, with a very large effect size (r = .93). Qualitative input verified results, with participants reporting increased teaching confidence, high satisfaction with mentor relationships, and strong recognition of the online clinical notebook. Incorporating structured mentoring into adjunct faculty orientation delivers a sustainable, evidence-based faculty development strategy that supports faculty retention and advances nursing education.
Rights Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Recommended Citation
Liddy, Karen, "Quality Improvement Project: Experienced Nurse to Novice Adjunct Educator: Bridging the Gap" (2026). Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects. 370.
https://arch.astate.edu/dnp-projects/370
