Clinical academic careers for educators and researchers in nursing

Abstract

In 2003 the two UK Government departments of Health and Education and Skills commissioned a team of investigators to examine a growing crisis in the educator and researcher workforce in the health, social care and education communities. The team were asked to look at all professions and take forward an extensive consultation process. This article describes the approach taken by the project team, articulates issues facing educators and researchers in nursing and suggests some models for career development. A series of recommendations are listed and shown to cover three main areas: (1) strategic drivers; (2) employment practices; and (3) matters relating to labour market intelligence. It can be shown that many of the problems facing nurse educators and researchers are shared with other staff groups in health and social care and that some ‘quick win’ solutions are possible. Although some effective costneutral work can be undertaken now, investment by Government is needed to make more substantial changes. Some of this investment may be found from existing funding streams but additional funding is likely to be necessary.

Walking alongside: a qualitative study of the experiences and perceptions of academic nurse mentors supporting early career nurse academics

“…Career support for leadership and research must be integrated into institutions if academics are to be retained in the academic setting (Butterworth et al, 2005;Adcroft & Taylor, 2009). Supportive interventions such as mentoring have many potential benefits, and to enable academics to develop their full potential in the academic setting.…”

Implementing a clinical academic career pathway in nursing; criteria for success and challenges ahead

“…All of these areas have been identified as problematic in securing effective joint roles across sectors (Butterworth, et al, 2005). Unlike the medical profession, nurses and allied health professionals have no history of integrated University/Trust contracts, which allow them to work seamlessly across both sectors simultaneously and to progress along a career path combining clinical and academic practice.…”

Doctoral preparation

“…We have attempted to summarise these important factors to draw out key professional issues for nursing in order to underline the need for contemporary thinking about developments in education and new horizons for healthcare. Indeed, such notions are embedded in the aims and objectives of a variety of educational initiatives, such as the Supporting Teaching and Learning Research in Health and Social Care project (StLar, 2002;Butterworth et al, 2005) and organisations promoting leadership in nurse education (National League of Nursing, 2005). In the UK, the StLar project emerged in 2002 when the Departments of Health and Education and Skills established StLar with the purpose of ensuring effective joint working and strategic planning across all learning and research issues in health and social care at central government and funder levels.…”