Nurses and midwives with PhD qualifications are being offered weekly study leave to further their clinical and academic careers, under a new program offered by Western Health, in partnership with Deakin University, the Australian Catholic University (ACU) and Victoria University (VU).
According to Western Health, the ‘nursing and midwifery clinical academic pathway’ is one of the first programs in Australia to provide protected and dedicated research time – one day per week, pro-rata for eligible nurses and midwives, while they continue their clinical practice.
Western Health nurse practitioner (alcohol and other drugs) David Silkoff said the program had allowed him a change of scenery from demanding clinical work.
“Clinical work is so consuming, and we are such a busy department, that I have struggled to do anything academic following the completion of my PhD,” Dr Silkoff said.
“Historically I think nursing has been a ‘doing profession’ where you go to work and you’re very active, and you don’t have time to step back and contribute to research.
“What we’ve got here is the chance for recognition for nursing staff who have higher degrees, who are doctors and nurses to contribute to that [research].”
As part of the program, participants will hold an honourary or adjunct appointment with Deakin University, ACU or VU.
The relevant university will provide program participants with an academic title and recognition, access to its libraries and digital resources, mentorship from experienced academic researchers, opportunities to collaborate in teaching, seminars and research forums as well as opportunities to co-supervise honours.
Dr Silkoff completed his PhD, focussing on ethics in healthcare, in 2015 and will continue his research in the field.
“My interest is in the ethical quandaries and challenges that healthcare practitioners encounter in their everyday work,” he said.
He said the ability to research alongside his clinical work allows him to reflect on issues more deeply.
“We generally do research because we’ve had questions that can’t be answered easily and we want to investigate those,” Dr Silkoff said.
“This program builds back in some dedicated research time and allows experienced nurses to contribute to research and academic expertise in a way from which they have previously been excluded.”
