Setting The Direction For Nursing & Midwifery Education in Scotland

Strategic Aim 5

Strengthen clinical academic collaboration to ensure that research and evidence underpin and drive improvements in quality

Utilising best evidence is essential for delivering safe, effective and person-centred healthcare.^[31] Achieving this requires excellence in research quality, attention to the growth of research-based capacity in the university and NHS workforce and partnership between universities and clinical services.^[32] We must be ambitious in building on our expertise in nursing and midwifery led multi-disciplinary research to achieve our aspiration for world-leading healthcare and nursing and midwifery practice in Scotland.

How we are doing this now

Individual and organisational capability and capacity

Initiatives that benefit nurses and midwives include, the NMAHP Research Training Scheme, the Chief Scientist Office (CSO) Personal Award Scheme and those provided by individual institutions and partnerships, e.g. Lothian Clinical Academic Research Careers Scheme. However, the focus is on early research career development such as PhD studentships and post-doctoral fellowships. There are few initiatives that support mid-career and senior research leadership and this limits future growth and sustainability in nursing and midwifery research.

The National Guidance for Clinical Academic Research Careers for Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health Professions in Scotland^[33] emphasises the importance of research and evidence-based practice at all levels of practice, including provision within pre-registration programmes.

The Research Excellence Framework determines the quality of research in UK universities and the distribution of substantial research funding. This places an imperative on the quality of research publications, the vitality and sustainability of the research environment and the impact of research on policy and practice. It is, therefore, mutually beneficial to universities and the NHS to optimise the impact of research and to work together to create high quality research environments. The CSO has supported strategic pooling and centres such as the NMAHP Research Unit and the Centre for Research on Families and Relationships to achieve this. Scottish universities make a significant contribution to the international and national evidence base for nursing and midwifery, however, the impact of research is best achieved through close partnership between research, policy and practice at all stages of research activity.

Knowledge exchange

Marshalling research strengths for Scotland's population and promoting a world-leading knowledge base for nursing and midwifery in Scotland will drive improvements in the quality of services. Opportunities for sharing dissemination and spread include: conferences in Scotland that showcase educational research programmes and using creative media to engage a wide audience. The Knowledge Network, Knowledge into Action^[34] was commissioned by Healthcare Improvement Scotland and NHS Education for Scotland to help align the use of knowledge in NHSScotland with the aims of the Healthcare Quality Strategy.

Improving what we do

5.1 Implement the Clinical Academic Research Career Framework at all levels of the Career Framework for Health^[35]

5.2 Facilitate collaboration between Executive Nurse Directors and Academic Heads to increase integrated career opportunities that combine practice, research and quality improvement

5.3 Ensure senior nurse and midwife job descriptions specify core activities such as linking with universities, generating research ideas and involvement in decision making and research capacity planning

5.4 Enhance the research and leadership skills of nurse and midwife consultants and develop their skill in quality improvement activity

5.5 Increase the proportion of nurses and midwives with knowledge and capacity for research and quality improvement through undergraduate and postgraduate education

5.6 Ensure that new treatments and research knowledge reach the individuals or populations intended by fostering links between researchers and practitioners and using resources such as Knowledge into Action^[36]

5.7 Establish the role of nurses and midwives at different levels of the Career Framework in implementing evidence into practice to facilitate quality improvement in care delivery

Collaborating for the future

5.8 Executive Nurse Directors and Academic Heads develop strategic partnerships with universities and care providers in all sectors that support honorary contracts, joint appointments and shared policies and procedures

5.9 Demonstrate how research, evaluation and quality improvement outcomes are embedded in nursing and midwifery education and practice

5.10 Enhance opportunities for nursing and midwifery strategic leadership in multi-disciplinary and multi-professional research, service evaluation and quality improvement

5.11 Support dissemination and knowledge exchange of nursing and midwifery led education and clinical research programmes

5.12 Facilitate collaborations between service users, the public, researchers and decision makers in policy and practice at early stages of research to ensure findings are applicable to practice

5.13 Establish productive relationships between research and improvement methods to generate useful, timely and trustworthy knowledge for improving safe, effective and person-centred care

5.14 Work strategically with all aspects of research commissioning, policy and quality monitoring to ensure equitable access to research opportunities for nursing and midwifery