A millennial benchmark of nurse-academics' scholarly productivity

The benchmark against which nurse-academics are primarily judged remains scholarly productivity. This study sought to examine levels of scholarly productivity amongst Australian nurse academics: where they are putting their emphasis, and what progress they are making. This quantitative study used a questionnaire survey technique that identified individual items of scholarship over a two-year period. The use of two author-developed rating scales, the General Scholarship Index (GSI) and the DEST Scholarship Index (DSI) enabled a comparison of nurse academics with other academic disciplines. Findings from the study underscore the positive association between academic rank, qualifications and scholarly productivity. To facilitate increasing the latter to a level comparable with other disciplines, nurse academics may need to refocus their energies on DEST approved activities. A work climate more conducive to fostering the ethos and skills of academic scholarly productivity is needed.