Building a Culture of Safety Through Faculty Mentorship: The Peer Pairing Framework for Clinical Nurse Educators

Background Clinical nurse educators often transition from bedside practice to clinical education in high-risk settings without structured support. Limited or absent mentorship during this transition may affect educator confidence, student learning outcomes, patient outcomes, and the ability to sustain a culture of safety. Although mentorship is widely recommended in nursing education, implementation strategies remain limited. The Peer Pairing Framework was developed as a staged mentorship approach to support clinical nurse educators and inform a comprehensive mentorship model. Methods The Peer Pairing Framework was informed by a voluntary onboarding survey of 914 clinical faculty, of whom 73.52% expressed interest in having a mentor and 88% expressed interest in serving as mentors. Stage 1 paired experienced and novice clinical nurse educators in an academic quarter-long mentorship experience. A mixed-methods evaluation included 5 pre- and post-experience Likert-scale survey questions aligned with Certified Nurse Educator (CNE) and Academic Clinical Nurse Educator Certification (CNEcl) competencies, assessing 5 mentorship pillars: Retention/Intent to Stay, Sense of Community/Support, Competence, Confidence, and Growth/Engagement. Qualitative feedback was also collected. Results There were 53 participants representing 7 campuses that completed the mentorship experience. Participants completing the post-experience survey reported a mean score of 4.77 versus a baseline mean score of 4.35. The highest-rated domains were retention/intent to stay (5.00), confidence (5.00), and competence (4.86), while community/support (4.28) and professional growth (4.25) identified areas for improvement. Although statistical significance was not demonstrated, findings suggested there is potential for clinical significance. Further, qualitative findings highlighted peer support, professional connection, resource sharing, and role development for mentors and mentees. Conclusion The Peer Pairing Framework represents a mentorship strategy designed to strengthen workforce safety by supporting clinical nurse educators during the transition into academia. Preliminary findings suggest that peer faculty mentorship may enhance retention, competence, confidence, and professional engagement while fostering a culture of safety in clinical learning environments. This staged approach offers a data-driven model for future comprehensive mentorship development.