Preparing Teaching Assistants in Nursing A Mixed-Methods Evaluation

Background: Teaching assistants (TAs) serve an important role in schools of nursing, but their educational needs are poorly understood. Purpose: To better prepare TAs, our School of Nursing identified and evaluated current TA practices to create tailored educational materials. Methods: A 16-item survey captured how faculty used TAs. Focus groups with current faculty and former TAs explored the TA role and identified areas to target for future training. Focus groups were analyzed using thematic content analysis. Results: Survey response rate was high (88%). Most faculty meet with TAs before the semester, and typical TA duties included attending lecture (71%) and facilitating examination review sessions (64%). Qualitative themes focused on faculty/TA communication, faculty guidance, knowing the policies, and TA/student boundary negotiation. Conclusions: Findings demonstrate the importance of preparing TAs. Since this study, the university and school of nursing have each developed educational materials to better prepare TAs and faculty.