External Scholarship Mentors for DNP-Prepared Faculty: A Practice-Oriented Exemplar

BACKGROUND: Variability surrounding what practice scholarship should entail and how to incorporate into academic life exists among DNP-prepared faculty teaching across nursing programs. PROBLEM: DNP-prepared faculty entering an academic role are expected to maintain a clinical practice, teach/advise students, and fulfill service obligations, often leaving minimal time to build a program of scholarship. APPROACH: Building upon the archetype of external mentors for PhD researchers, we introduce a new model for external mentorship for DNP-prepared faculty to facilitate scholarship. OUTCOMES: In the first dyad to use this model, the mentor-mentee met/exceeded all contractual goals, including presentations, manuscripts, leadership behaviors, and role navigation within higher education. More external dyads are currently in development. CONCLUSIONS: Securing an external, seasoned mentor as a match for a junior member of the faculty in a yearlong partnership demonstrates promise for positive change in the scholarship trajectory of DNP-prepared faculty in higher education.