Easing the transition from nurse clinician to nurse educator in Ghana: Exploring novice nurse educators' perspectives

AIM: To explore novice nurse educators' perspectives on easing the transition from nurse clinician to nurse educator in Ghana. DESIGN: A descriptive qualitative study. METHODS: In total, 12 novice nurse educators (NNEs) were recruited from three health training institutions in the Upper East Region of Ghana. Between June and August 2020, individual in‐depth interviews were conducted using a semi‐structured interview guide. The audio‐recorded interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed manually using thematic analysis. RESULTS: Four themes emerged: mentoring, orientation to educator role, pedagogical preparation and postgraduate studies. To ease the transition, NNEs stressed on developing individual mentoring programmes to mentor novices before they start to teach. They endorsed the development of college‐specific orientation programmes to orientate novices before they assume full teaching roles. Participants also urged nurse clinicians to obtain pedagogical preparation and postgraduate degree before moving into academia or immediately after being employed.