Examining the nurse practitioner academic role: A self-study pilot

Introduction

PhD-prepared nurses build nursing knowledge to address complex healthcare issues. As autonomous clinicians, PhD-prepared nurse practitioners (NPs) are uniquely positioned to integrate clinical care with research. However, according to a 2024 U.S. survey, only 1.3% of 10,275 NP respondents held a PhD. In Canada, there are insufficient PhD-prepared nurses to fill faculty vacancies.  NPs in academia teach, conduct research, and provide community service. However, no definitive model outlines how clinical practice should be integrated, valued, and evaluated within academic positions. We explored the experience of PhD-prepared NPs who practice clinically to consider how clinical practice fits within workload and academic promotion models, and how NP-PhDs working in academia integrate clinical practice with academic work?

Goals and Methods

Four PhD-prepared NPs completed a pilot self-study. We collected email responses to interview questions and conducted a focus group via Zoom. Themes and patterns in the data were identified using Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis, and an inductive, iterative approach to coding. The Queen’s University Research Ethics Board granted study approval.

Results

Our analysis yielded five themes: Appreciation of the value of clinical work; lack of understanding of the PhD-NP role; synergy between teaching, research, and clinical practice; challenges including time constraints and competing responsibilities; and a lack of formal models on how PhD-NP roles including clinical practice are organized and compensated.

Conclusions

PhD prepared NPs value clinical work and feel it contributes to their teaching and research. However, models are lacking for assessing and compensating academic-clinical roles. Pilot data are being used to inform the design of a larger study of PhD prepared NPs working in academia. Because our data is preliminary, it must be considered within current administrative priorities and fiscal constraints within the North American context. Findings may have potential to inform the development clinical practice policies in academia.