A convenience sample of registered nurses who recently completed (<2 years) or are currently enrolled in RN to BSN programs will be recruited for the study. Fifty-three registered nurses who were enrolled in an RN to BSN program, who participated in a previous 2018 study about their intent to pursue a future faculty role, and who agreed to participate in focus groups for the proposed study will be invited to participate.
A qualitative descriptive design will be used to explore RN to BSN students’ intent to pursue a faculty role and to generate strategies for attracting more RN-BSN-prepared nurses to the faculty role. To keep with the essence of a qualitative descriptive research design, the team will conduct focus groups, using a focus group guide with a minimal number of prompts; prompts will only be used if necessary. A minimum of four focus groups consisting of 4–8 members/group will be conducted. Data collection will occur via virtual focus groups and demographic questionnaires. Participants will engage in virtual focus groups from a location of their choosing. Content analysis will be used to identify themes.