606 - Diversity in Nursing Academia: Perceptions and Experiences of Search Committee Members in the Hiring of Nursing Faculty

Diversity among nursing faculty continues to be a pressing issue at many schools and colleges of nursing in the United States. The growth of the country’s diverse population and the increasing number of diverse nursing students highlight the importance of having a more diverse nursing faculty. Only very limited studies have been conducted about diversity in nursing academia. However, the literature has supported that the search committee plays a vital role in the hiring of nursing faculty, including diverse nursing faculty. Therefore, it is important to study the perceptions and experiences of search committee members in the hiring of nursing faculty.
The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions and experiences of search committee members in the hiring of diverse nursing faculty. This study used the qualitative descriptive method to explore the perceptions and experiences of faculty who served on the search committees. The Framework of Understanding Campus Climate was used to formulate a semi-structured interview guide and analyze and synthesize the data. The researcher used snowball sampling; 15 individuals from 10 states participated.
Using Braun and Clarke’s (2006) thematic analysis, three major themes emerged:
(a) formation of a search committee, (b) search processes, and (c) diversity and inclusion in an academic setting. The themes enhanced understanding the faculty members’ experiences with and perceptions of participating on a search committee. This also informed understanding of how diversity is considered in the hiring process in academic nursing institutions. The study findings can illuminate the practice of forming search committees, creating more effective diversity training for search committees, increasing diversity efforts, and attracting and hiring more diverse nursing faculty members. The findings from this research study may add to the body of knowledge and inform faculty members, human resources departments, and other departments about methods to attract more diverse applicants as well as provide a greater understanding of the roles of different members on a search committee.