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The shortage of nursing faculty in the United States may be an even greater problem than the current shortage of registered nurses. With the average nurse educator age of 55.2 years, a wave of projected retirements of 400 to 500 master's- and doctorally prepared faculty per year is expected over the next 10 years (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2009 ). The importance of retaining current nursing faculty in the workplace cannot be overstated, but of equal and perhaps greater importance is the need to attract, enculturate, and retain new nurse educators (Gazza & Shellenbarger, 2005 ).
Academic work environments that are empowered provide educators with access to information, support, and resources, as well as the opportunity to learn and grow (Nedd, Galindo-Ciocon, & Belgrave, 2006 ). Positive relationships that occur between coworkers and management also provide power and meaning to the workplace. Sarmiento, Laschinger, and Iwasiw (2004 ) tested a structural empowerment model and applied it to nurse educators' perceptions of workplace empowerment, burnout, and job stress. High levels of empowerment and low levels of burnout were significant predictors of work satisfaction, with empowerment being the stronger predictor.
Several strategies have been suggested to promote empowered work environments that may assist in job satisfaction and retention of newly hired faculty. One strategy that meets educators' needs for preparation for the academic role, professional growth, and the development of a social network is the implementation of a new faculty orientation program (Hessler & Ritchie, 2006 ; National League for Nursing, 2006 ). This article provides a brief analysis of new faculty orientation as related to best practices in the current literature and describes the implementation and evaluation of a nursing faculty orientation program at a California community college.
Need for Faculty Orientation
Because of an infusion of state money into California community colleges to increase the number of nursing graduates, an unprecedented hiring of 11 mostly inexperienced nurse educators occurred at a large Southern California community college over a 2-year period. With qualified faculty at a premium, the nursing program faculty and administrators considered different strategies not only to help novice educators to assume their new roles more easily, but also to aid in their retention. Previous departmental orientation...