Joint appointees' experiences within a school of nursing and midwifery

This study evaluated the experiences of joint appointees within a school of nursing and midwifery. The nature of joint appointments has evolved, particularly since nurse education moved from the NHS into higher education institutions. Anecdotal evidence suggests that joint appointments are viewed as a bridge between clinical services and university teaching. Although joint clinical and academic appointments are the norm within medical schools, they form a minority of the appointments within most nursing schools. The general findings were that joint appointees need to be committed to the role, flexible, open to new working cultures, independent and self-supporting. The benefits to the individual and the organizations were perceived as very positive. Staff recruited into current joint appointment posts need to be clinically experienced, professionally aware, socially sensitive and politically astute.