Clinical Practice Within the Nurse Practitioner Academic Role: A Collaborative Self-Study Pilot.

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Higher Education
• Health Policy

Background:

• Doctor of Philosophy-prepared nurse practitioners (PhDs) possess unique skills for academic settings.
• Existing models for integrating clinical practice with academic roles for nursing faculty are insufficient.
• The specific contributions and organizational needs of PhD-prepared NPs in academia require further exploration.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore how PhD-prepared NPs in academia experience the integration of clinical practice with academic responsibilities.
• To investigate how clinical practice is incorporated into workload and academic promotion models for PhD-prepared NPs.
• To identify challenges and opportunities related to the academic-clinical roles of PhD-prepared NPs.

Main Methods:

• A pilot collaborative self-study was conducted by four PhD-prepared NPs.
• Data were initially collected via email, followed by a virtual focus group.
• Braun and Clarke's Reflexive Thematic Analysis was employed for data analysis.

Main Results:

• PhD-prepared NPs perceive significant value in their clinical work, noting its synergy with teaching and research.
• Key challenges include time constraints, competing responsibilities, and a general lack of understanding regarding the PhD-NP role.
• A significant finding was the absence of formal organizational and compensation models for integrating academic and clinical duties.

Conclusions:

• PhD-prepared NPs find clinical practice enhances their academic roles, yet formal structures for this integration are lacking.
• The study highlights the need for developing specific models to support and recognize the dual academic-clinical roles of PhD-prepared NPs.
• Findings underscore the necessity for further research to inform policy and practice regarding PhD-NP roles in North American academic settings.