Opportunities to improve mentorship of underrepresented minority nurse faculty on the tenure track: A Delphi study

Background: Mentorship is essential for supporting doctorally prepared nurses transitioning into academic roles and for addressing the escalating nurse faculty shortage. Purpose: The objective of this study was to gain consensus on barriers, facilitators, and metrics of successful mentorship of doctorally prepared underrepresented minority (URM) nurse faculty. Methods: A Delphi panel of doctorally prepared URM nurse faculty in the United States was convened. In Round 1, respondents answered open-ended questions identifying barriers, facilitators, and success metrics. In Round 2, participants rated their agreement using a 5-point scale. Round 3 included a focus group discussion. Discussion: The Round 1 survey was distributed to 107 URM nurse faculty, with 35 responses (32.7% response rate). Twenty-three of those participants completed Round 2 (65.7% retention). Top-ranked metrics included progress on milestones aligned with individual development plans and quality of mentor–mentee engagement. Conclusion: This study underscores the importance of relational factors in effective mentorship.