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Statement of the Problem: The rapidly changing healthcare environment requires a robust nursing workforce. The growing nursing shortage requires a national call to replenish the supply of registered nurses hindered by this shortage. Advanced practice registered nurses are answering that call and transitioning from clinical practice to academia.Aims: The purpose of this study was to describe the lived experiences of clinical nurse experts who chose to transition to academia. The study sought to discover how prepared they felt for academia as well as the challenges and obstacles encountered in their new role.Methods: This phenomenological qualitative study, guided by Max Van Manen, addresses the question “How do clinical nurse experts experience the transition to novice nurse educator?” The sample for this research study consisted of seven participants from several schools of nursing in the United States who experienced the transition from clinical nurse expert to novice nurse educator first hand. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with open-ended questions, allowing the participants to describe their lived experiences during transition.Pertinent Findings: Two themes emerged from the study. One was Learning Curve with the subthemes 1) Figure it out on my own, 2) “I didn’t know what I didn’t know,” and 3) Where do you learn to teach? The second theme was Mentoring with the subthemes 1) No mentor, no direction and 2) Mentoring done right. The experience of the novice nurse educators in this study was perceived as challenging and, in some regards, unexpected. These former expert clinicians, now in this new academic role, felt ill-prepared, unsure, and assumed the role of novice once again - experiencing a feeling of “thrownness” as they were thrust from expert to novice.Conclusions: Preparation and support for the faculty role must be a priority if universities are expected to produce a highly educated nursing workforce. Additionally, formal mentoring is an important component in the development of novice nursing faculty as mentors are experts who can demonstrate innovative pedagogies and foster earnest inquiry and inventiveness in nursing students.