Other Titles
Health Service and University Partnership: Clinical Research Career Pathways [Title Slide]
Abstract
Aim: To develop a research mentoring program that has a measurable impact on clinical outcomes and create a career pathway for nurses and midwives.
Background: Nurse-led research and innovation are key to improving health experiences and outcomes and reducing health inequalities. Yet nurses and midwives are underrepresented in the leadership of research (Eckert et al., 2023). We present a partnership between university and government-funded health services (the Health District) to provide mentoring for nurses and midwives to lead research. The Health District employs approximately 6,000 nurses and midwives who care for over one million people in a region greater than 900 square kilometres. Mentoring has been identified as a critical need for supporting nurse-led research (Farquharson, 2024). In this program, participants are mentored to develop research that addresses clinical problems.
Method: Participants engage in workshops, online sessions, and coaching. These activities are supported by an organisation-wide commitment to clinical trials and embedding academic clinicians within service delivery. The Australasian Nursing and Midwifery Clinical Trials Network further supports the research mentoring program. Commitment to the collaborative partnership is evidenced by the appointment of clinical professors who are co-funded by the health service and university.
Results: Since 2023, over 480 nurses and midwives from diverse specialties have participated in research mentoring. Forty-five clinicians have further honed their skills by attending protocol development workshops. These efforts have created impactful projects that directly enhance patient outcomes and well-being. This presentation will showcase these transformative initiatives.
Conclusion: It is widely accepted that the nursing and midwifery workforce is critical in generating evidence and ensuring its application to practice (Cámpoli & Mulvey, 2023). In Australia, efforts are underway to formalise a career pathway for clinician researchers (Johnson et al., 2023; Johnson et al., 2024). Our work includes strategic, policy and educational initiatives to cultivate emerging clinician-research leaders. The results of this program have led to State government support for expanding the research mentoring program in regional and remote settings. The capabilities we are developing today will support the next generation of clinical research leaders.
Notes
References:
Cámpoli, M., & Mulvey, T. (2023). A path forward in nurse-led research: turning priorities into actionable items. JONA: The Journal of Nursing Administration, 53(5), 241-242.
Eckert, M., Kennedy, K., Neylon, K., Rickard, C. M., Keogh, S., Gray, R., Middleton, S., Homer, C., Whitehead, L., & Sharplin, G. (2023). A scoping review of nurse-led randomised controlled trials. Journal of clinical nursing, 32(17-18), 5550-5561. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.16632
Farquharson, B. (2024). What helps or hinders nurses to lead funded research projects? A survey of UK nurse lead-investigators. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 80(4), 1464-1472. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.15932
Johnson, M., Ferguson, C., Thornton, A., Israel, J., Cruickshank, M., Deboroah, D., Fernandez, R., Fry, M., Hickman, L. D., Hosie, A., Inglis, S. C., McErlean, G., McInnes, E., Perry, L., Sheppard-Law, S., Wynne, R., Parsons, M., & Middleton, S. (2023). Exploring the SPHERE Nursing and Midwifery Clinician Researcher Career Pathway: A qualitative study. Collegian, 30(6), 795-804. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.colegn.2023.06.002
Johnson, M., Straiton, N., Ferguson, C., Mcinnes, E., Thornton, A., Everett, B., Tuqiri, K., Meedya, S., Hackett, K., Cruickshank, M., Fry, M., Perry, L., Sheppard-Law, S., Hosie, A., Inglis, S., Mcerlean, G., Debono, D., Fernandez, R., Wynne, R.,…Academy, M. I. S. (2024). Pre-implementation context and implementation approach for a nursing and midwifery clinician researcher career pathway: A qualitative study. Journal of Advanced Nursing, n/a(n/a). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.16307
Sigma Membership
Non-member
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Other
Research Approach
Translational Research/Evidence-based Practice
Keywords:
Academic-clinical Partnership, Mentoring and Coaching, Implementation Science
Recommended Citation
Merrick, Eamon; Harris, Claire; Baird, Kathleen; Catling, Christine; Williams, Anna; and Fry, Margaret, "Mentoring to Answer Applied Research Questions and Develop a Clinician-Researcher Career Pathway" (2025). International Nursing Research Congress (INRC). 200.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/inrc/2025/presentations_2025/200
Conference Name
36th International Nursing Research Congress
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Seattle, Washington, USA
Conference Year
2025
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Mentoring to Answer Applied Research Questions and Develop a Clinician-Researcher Career Pathway
Seattle, Washington, USA
Aim: To develop a research mentoring program that has a measurable impact on clinical outcomes and create a career pathway for nurses and midwives.
Background: Nurse-led research and innovation are key to improving health experiences and outcomes and reducing health inequalities. Yet nurses and midwives are underrepresented in the leadership of research (Eckert et al., 2023). We present a partnership between university and government-funded health services (the Health District) to provide mentoring for nurses and midwives to lead research. The Health District employs approximately 6,000 nurses and midwives who care for over one million people in a region greater than 900 square kilometres. Mentoring has been identified as a critical need for supporting nurse-led research (Farquharson, 2024). In this program, participants are mentored to develop research that addresses clinical problems.
Method: Participants engage in workshops, online sessions, and coaching. These activities are supported by an organisation-wide commitment to clinical trials and embedding academic clinicians within service delivery. The Australasian Nursing and Midwifery Clinical Trials Network further supports the research mentoring program. Commitment to the collaborative partnership is evidenced by the appointment of clinical professors who are co-funded by the health service and university.
Results: Since 2023, over 480 nurses and midwives from diverse specialties have participated in research mentoring. Forty-five clinicians have further honed their skills by attending protocol development workshops. These efforts have created impactful projects that directly enhance patient outcomes and well-being. This presentation will showcase these transformative initiatives.
Conclusion: It is widely accepted that the nursing and midwifery workforce is critical in generating evidence and ensuring its application to practice (Cámpoli & Mulvey, 2023). In Australia, efforts are underway to formalise a career pathway for clinician researchers (Johnson et al., 2023; Johnson et al., 2024). Our work includes strategic, policy and educational initiatives to cultivate emerging clinician-research leaders. The results of this program have led to State government support for expanding the research mentoring program in regional and remote settings. The capabilities we are developing today will support the next generation of clinical research leaders.
Description
Nurse-led research and innovation are key to improving health experiences and outcomes and reducing health inequalities. We present a partnership between university and government-funded health services to provide training and opportunities for nurses and midwives to lead applied clinical research. This initiative is creating a future workforce of research leaders and supporting the rapid translational of research findings into clinical practice.