Shouldn’t we all be clinical academics?

A survey of nurses' experience integrating oncology clinical and academic worlds

“…Time was cited as a major contributor to this barrier; however, participants also described a systematic devaluing of the integration of clinical and academic roles and a lack of institutional support. Although other health professions have demonstrated that clinical and academic roles can be successfully integrated (Gibson, 2019), participants in this study indicated that they were forced to choose academic or clinical practice. This highlights an unfortunate and ironic loss for our profession: the integration of clinical and academic worlds is understood as the crux of nursing practice, yet numerous systemic barriers impede such integration.…”

“…Although nursing is a multifaceted discipline of practice, research, education and policy, evidence of the “theory‐practice gap” is further substantiated by inadequate integration of the core components of practice and research. Gibson ( 2019 ) illustrates disciplinary challenges related to integrating practice and research through comparison to other allied health professionals, demonstrating that there are fewer nurses than allied health professionals holding Integrated Clinical Academic Fellowships (salary support for clinicians with dual clinical/research roles) in the UK. Gibson urges the development of roles which blend clinical, research and teaching so that nurses can continually question and draw from their clinical practice to advance research and scholarship, and likewise from research and scholarship to advance clinical practice.…”

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Historically, a gap between theory and practice has existed in the nursing profession, while, at the same time, academic institutions have actively sought to recruit nurses from practice into academic roles (Nardi & Gyurko, 2013). For nurses completing graduate education through Master's or Doctoral programs, the employment options are often situated in either a clinical or academic context, with few roles available that bridge both environments (Gibson, 2019). This often creates challenges for nurses striving to integrate clinical and academic work during and after graduate studies.As members of the Doctoral and Post-doctoral Network of the Canadian Association of Nurses in Oncology (Galica et al, 2018), we sought to better understand the experiences of oncology nurses navigating the dualities of clinical and academic worlds.

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Advanced practice nursing: Should research be the icing on the cake?

“…Indeed, Casey et al (2015) found that only a small minority of ANPs suggested that engaging in independent research was achievable or seen as an important element of the advanced nursing practice role. This continues to be our tangible experience and although there are an array of interpretations as to what “participating in research” actually consists of, engagement in research activity is still undervalued and under‐resourced in nursing (Gibson, 2019). Clinical leadership as a component of educational engagement is also underdeveloped (Elliott & Walden, 2014).…”

Clinical academic research internships for nurses, midwives and allied health professionals: a qualitative evaluation

“…Page 2 of 19 BACKGROUND The development of a research culture in nursing, midwifery and allied health professions (NMAHPs) is essential for evidence-based healthcare. Historically, clinically active NMAHPs have rarely led or collaborated in research that contributes to their discipline's evidence base (Health Education England, 2015;Gibson, 2019). Their involvement in research often entails promoting the implementation of evidence-based practice, or co-ordinating and delivering research projects led by medically qualified clinical academics (Whitehouse, 2018).…”