Should I stay or should I go? Nursing and midwifery academics intention to stay in or leave academia: A scoping review.

Background: There is a chronic lack of appropriately qualified nurses and midwives being attracted into and remaining in the academic workforce. Reasons for this are not well understood but have been linked to stressful work environments related to balancing multiple roles in sometimes unsupportive environments, resulting in overload and demoralisation.

Aim: To illuminate factors associated with nursing and midwifery academics' intention to remain in academia and factors associated with intention to leave.

Design: A scoping review was undertaken to provide a comprehensive and broad analysis of the related literature. This was guided by Arksey and O'Malley. A search strategy was developed using a combination of keywords and subject headings and adapted for four electronic databases to search for papers published between 2013 and 2024.

Methods: The review included five steps: (i) identifying the question, (ii) identifying relevant studies, (iii) study selection, (iv) data charting, (v) collating, summarising, and reporting the results. Covidence systematic review software was used. Quality appraisal was undertaken using the Mixed Methods Assessment Tool (MMAT).

Results: A total of 2870 papers were identified, 23 were included in the review. Retaining academics includes addressing issues related to promotion positive work environments such teamwork, professional relationships, supporting older academics, and professional development. Preventing attrition includes addressing emotional exhaustion and burnout, and ensuring academics feel valued and are recognised. Notably, there was a lack of research related to the Indigenous nursing and midwifery academic workforce.

Conclusion: Given the predicted workforce shortages it is imperative for nursing education providers to develop strategies to promote healthy work environments and career pathways, and identify how to develop strong leadership in an ageing nursing and midwifery academic workforce. Importantly, the lack of research related to the Indigenous academic workforce is concerning and must be a priority area for focus.