Publication Productivity of Nursing Faculty in Selected Schools of Nursing Across the United States

PURPOSE: Faculty productivity related to research and scholarship is assessed in schools of nursing throughout the world. The purpose of this study was to examine the publication productivity of nursing faculty at each academic rank and in both tenure and nontenure tracks in selected schools of nursing across the United States. DESIGN: This was a descriptive study of publications and the h-index of nursing faculty. METHODS: Publication and citation data and the h-index for faculty (N = 1,354) in 18 schools of nursing were obtained from the Scopus database. FINDINGS: Overall, the number of publications and citations and the h-index of faculty increased at higher academic ranks. The median number of publications for tenure track faculty was 13 for assistant professors, 33 for associate professors, and 81 for full professors. Citation medians ranged from 80.5 for assistant professors, to 378 for associate professors, to 1,401 for full professors. The median h-index was 4 for assistant professors, 10 for associate professors, and 20 for full professors. Significant differences were found across academic ranks and between tenure and nontenure track faculty. CONCLUSIONS: The findings provide the first documentation of scholarly productivity of nursing faculty, as measured by number of publications and citations and by h-index, across schools of nursing in the United States. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: These findings can be used as benchmarks by appointment, promotion, and tenure committees and by faculty for self-assessment.