Professional Identity, Transition and Wellness – How can we Support New Academic Staff in the Early Stages of an Academic Career?

This article seeks to identify where opportunities may exist to provide support to new lecturers when they transition into their role in academia and to contribute to the debate on how to create a ‘safe space’ and maintain the wellness of staff working in Higher Education. It explores how the concept of ‘wellness’ may change in line with a new lecturer’s perception of their professional identity and their transition into the role of an academic. It also explores how the work of Tennant, McMullen and Kaczynski (2009), denoting reconceptualised perspectives on the development of teaching expertise, and the stages of transition highlighted by Gale and Parker (2014), can be modelled to map Grand Rapids Community College’s (2018) seven dimensions of wellness across transition into an academic role.