| dc.description.abstract | Background: Combining clinical and academic work in postdoctoral nurses strengthens the impact of nursing research. This is important because the use of research findings in clinical practice is limited. Cultural barriers, differences in professional identities, the lack of infrastructure and leadership hinder combining academic and clinical work in nursing. Combining both roles demands strong leadership skills. Currently, there is little insight in leadership experiences of postdoctoral nurses working in hospitals.
Aim: To describe leadership experiences of postdoctoral nurses working in Dutch hospitals.
Methods: A generic qualitative study, using semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis, is performed within seven hospitals. A purposeful sample of 12 postdoctoral nurses was recruited. Participants were eligible if they were employed as researcher or nurse specialist within a clinical department, finished a doctoral or PhD degree at least six months before the start of the study and had a degree in nursing. Leadership experiences, realizing change, leadership barriers and professional development were discussed.
Results: Three themes were identified: professional development, being a leader in clinical practice and leadership challenges. Participants described their professional development as a conscious process in which they took initiative and received support. The participants were determined to improve nursing care. However, not all participants felt like leaders, despite the presence of leadership behaviors. Participants experienced a lack of nursing research culture and infrastructure.
Conclusion: Postdoctoral nurses showed leadership with the aim of improving nursing care. However, they experienced multiple barriers that hinder them to profile themselves as leaders within their profession, hospitals and healthcare.
Recommendation: Further research is needed to explore opinions of hospitals boards, managers and physicians towards nursing research to multidisciplinary identify opportunities to strengthen nursing research and (multidisciplinary) collaborations. | |
